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PRESENTED BY 



THE CONNECTION 

OF 

NATURAL AND REVEALED 



THEOLOGY: 






BEING AN ATTEMPT TO ILLUSTRATE THE 

EVIDENCES AND DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY 

BY THEIR RELATION TO THE 

INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN MIND. 



NOTES AND AUTHORITIES 

COLLECTED FROM THE 

MOST EMINENT ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS. 



By EDWARD WILLIAM GRINFIELD, M.A. 

MINISTER OF LAURA CHAPEL, BATH. 



Arena non sine calce. 







LONDON: 

PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DA VIES, 

IN THE STRAND. 

1818. 






Gift. 

1G'D J 04 



Printed by A. Strahan, 
Printers-Street, London. 



" The principle in which this branch of logic hath 
Its foundation, is a native bent, and propensity of the 
mind, strengthened by experience, and confirmed by 
habit, from which we are involuntarily led to expect that 
nature and truth are uniform and analogous through- 
out the whole universe ; that similar causes of whatever 
kind, will in similar circumstances at all times produce 
similar effects ; or if the causes cannot be known, that 
similar effects, will explain, illustrate, and account for 
similar effects. This principle, then, resolves itself into 
similitude ; and reason acts upon it, as in all other cases, 
by comparing and judging. Thus we argue from 
truths which have been proved by direct reason, or 
which are obvious to simple apprehension, to others 
which are similar in cause or effect ; and if upon com- 
paring and judging, the principle will bear us out, we 
conclude the latter to be true: a conclusion which will 
supply us with a kind and degree of truth sufficient for 
most of the uses and purposes of human life. 

" This method of reasoning is analogy, which accord- 
ing to Quintilian, c is to refer a thing that is doubtful 
to something similar and different, that uncertainties 
may derive their proof from certainties.' " 

Taiham's Chart and Scale of Truth, 

" The probability of most things, and the possibility 
of all things contained in the Scriptures, may well be 
discerned by reason itself, which makes their existence 
the more easy to be believed." 

Baxter's Saints' Rest, Part ii. Ch. iii. 



A 2 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



CONTENTS. 



PART THE FIRST. 

THE CREDIBILITIES OF REVELATION IN GENERAL. 

Introduction. — The object of the work stated. Its 
connection with the inductive philosophy of the hu- 
man mind. The origin and foundation of natural 
theology. To whom the work is addressed. The 
argument stated. The cautions which are necessary 
to estimate this kind of evidence. The obligations of 
the author to Reid and Butler. » Page xxi 

Sect. I. — Is not a Revelation possible? Does it imply 
any contradiction ? Does not every possibility admit 
of being proved by evidence ? - - I 

Sect. II. — Is not a Revelation desirable, if it can be 
proved? Does any one object that we have too 
much light under the Christian Revelation? May 
not the extreme desirableness of a Revelation be 
esteemed as some glimpse of its probability ? - 4 

Sect. Ill Is not the teachable nature of man a pre- 
sumption in favour of a Divine Revelation ? Do not 
a 3 



VI 



we acquire most of our knowledge from others ? Is 
not some portion of communicated instruction neces- 
sary to awaken our faculties? Is not our natural 
assent to testimony a symptom in favour of an histo- 
rical Revelation? - - Page 1 ] 

Sect. IV. — Upon what kind of evidence must a Reve- 
lation depend? Are not miracles essential to its 
proof? Must it not also accord with our moral sen- 
timents? - - - 10 

Sect. V. — Is it not probable that a Revelation would, 
upon the whole, agree with the circumstances of man- 
kind? Would it not appear congenial to our under- 
standings, and suitable to our external conditions, by 
being adapted to a state of trial and discipline ? 13 

Sect. VI. — Is it not probable there was some Re- 
velation at the first creation of man ? Do not the 
circumstances of a new creation seem to require it ? 
Is it consistent with our natural sentiments of God 
that he should create man and leave him in total igno- 
rance of his duty? - - 19 

Sect. VII. — Would God have created man otherwise 
than innocent? Would he not have been the 
author of evil if he had created man in his present 
condition? - - 25 

Sect. VIIL — Does not the possibility of the fall neces- 
sarily arise out of man's free agency ? Are not all free 
agents liable, to similar abuses ? Is this any argument 
against the creation of free agents ? - 28 

Sect. IX. — Do not the contradictions which subsist in 
our nature between reason and passion intimate some 
derangement in our moral faculties ? Gould an inno- 
cent being feel sentiments of shame, remorse, and 
repentance? 32 



Vll 



Sect. X. — Does not the doctrine of the fall derive some 
credibility from the opposition which subsists between 
the wishes and the circumstances of mankind ? 
Would God have originally made mankind dissa- 
tisfied with their situations ? Are not these symp- 
toms of our being in a degraded condition ? Page 35 

Sect. XI. — Is not the doctrine of the fall rendered 
probable from the numerous external ills to which we 
are exposed? Would God have exposed innocent 
beings to sickness, pains, disappointments, &c. ? Do 
not all nations acknowledge their guilt by their cries 
and confessions ? - 38 

Sect. XII. — Are not the hereditary consequences of 
the fall in unison with our common observations of 
nature ? Are not children dependent on the conduct 
of their parents, and subjects on that of their rulers ? 
Is not infamy and reputation in some degree here- 
ditary ? Does not this arise out of the nature of a 
race? - - - 41 

Sect. XIII. — Is it not probable there are other intel- 
ligent creatures in the universe besides man ? Is not 
this rendered credible by the discoveries of modern 
astronomy ? Is it not probable that some of these 
beings are evil and others good ? Have not all na- 
tions held these opinions ? - 46' 

Sect. XIV. — Is it not possible that some evil beings 
may have tempted man to disobey his maker ? Are 
not superior talents often perverted to the purposes 
of allurement to vice ? Would not the consequences be 
very tremendous of introducing evil into an innocent 
nature? - - - 49 

Sect. XV. — Is it not probable that man, upon his first 

a 4 



Vlll 



creation, might be allowed to hold converse with 
superior beings ? Does not a state of solitude seem 
to demand such intercourse ? Might it not be requi- 
site to bring him into a state of moral trial ? Page 52 

Sect. XVI. — What is the present character and situ- 
ation of man ? Is he not a mixed and intermediate 
being, partly good and partly evil ? Does not the 
world accord with this confusion, exhibiting marks 
both of happiness and misery? Does not hope on 
the whole predominate ? - - 55 

Sect. XVII. — Might not man entertain some expect- 
ations of pardon on repentance ? Does he wear the 
appearance of a hopeless outcast? Are not there 
many symptoms of mercy in his providential treat- 
ment? - - - 58 

Sect. XVIII. — Does it not seem probable that some 
extraordinary assistance would be granted to aid man 
in his moral difficulties ? Might not this have been 
hoped from our natural sentiments of the Deity ? 62 

Sect. XIX. — In what manner does it seem probable 
that a Revelation would be made known to us? 
Would it not be conveyed by impressing us with 
the sense of our guilt, and with the hopes of par- 
don on repentance? To impress these sentiments, 
would it not institute a sacrificial form of worship ? 
Would it not also republish the original moral 
code? - 65 

Sect. XX. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not enforce the unity and personality of the 
Divine Being? Would not this become expedient 
from the universal prevalence of idolatry ? 68 

Sect. XXI. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 



IX 



was it not probable that some new relations of the 
Deity would be discovered to us? Is not this ex- 
tremely credible from our ignorance of the divine 
nature ? - - - Page 7 1 

Sect. XXII. — Is not the Deity made known to us in 
natural theology, chiefly after a relative and analo- 
gical manner ? Are not all his titles as Father, 
Governor, &c. borrowed from earthly objects, and 
transferred to the Divine Being ? Are not our con- 
ceptions of his moral attributes gathered from re- 
flecting on our own minds, and afterwards transferred 
to the Divine Intellect? 73 

Sect. XXIII. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
is it not probable that it would be published by some 
extraordinary character ? Would there not be con- 
siderable reason to doubt whether any dependent 
creature would be equal to the task ? - 76 

Sect. XXIV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
is it not probable that the example of its founder 
would be held up as a leading evidence of its truth, 
and a great medium of its utility ? - 79 

Sect. XXV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
is it not probable that it would contain some doctrines 
relative to a sacrifice and atonement for our sins ? 
Would it have been adapted to human wants, if it had 
been deficient in these doctrines ? 82 

Sect. XXVI. — Is not the belief of spiritual aid im- 
plied in natural as well as in revealed theology ? Is 
it not implied in all prayers ? Does it not arise out 
of the belief of a Providence ? Do not the philoso- 
phers of antiquity assert it ? - 85 

Sect. XXVII. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 



- is it not probable that it would confirm our natural sen- 
timents respecting the immortality of the soul ? Was 
not there great want of such confirmation ? Page 88 
Sect. XXVIII. — On the supposition of any Reve- 
lation, is it not probable that it would be sanctioned 
by the doctrines of eternal rewards and punishments ? 
Does not this probability arise out of the connection 
of revelation with an unchangeable state of existence ? 
Could the obedience of mankind have been secured 
without this doctrine ? - - 90 

Sect. XXIX. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not in all probability contain some doctrines 
beyond the reach of our natural faculties ? Would 
any religion devoid of mysteries be suited to the na- 
ture of man ? - 95 
Sect. XXX. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not probably contain some positive institu- 
tions ? Is a merely spiritual religion suited to human 
nature? - 9S 
Sect. XXXI. — Is it not equally unphilosophical in na- 
tural and revealed theology to argue on supposition, 
instead of enquiring into facts ? When the truth of 
a Revelation has been ascertained, should we not yield 
to its authority ? - - 101 
Sect. XXXII. — Are not the evidences both of natural 
and revealed theology ultimately dependent on our 
belief in the Divine veracity ? Is not this species of 
faith universally necessary in all evidence ? - 105 
Sect. XXXIII. — Is not a Revelation delivered in an 
historical form, and with the sanction of a divine law, 
necessarily more clear and intelligible than an abstract 
religion ? Is not this a proof of its suitability to the 



XI 



nature of man, and therefore a presumptive argument 
in its favour ? - - Page 108 

Sect. XXXIV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not probably be intended for the benefit of 
all mankind ? Does not this arise out of our senti- 
ments respecting the Divine attributes ? - 111 

Sect. XXXV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
is it likely that it would meet with universal success ? 
Would not this show that its evidences were irresist- 
ible ? - - - 114 

Sect. XXXVI. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not leave room for the exercise of moral 
candour in judging of its doctrines and evidences? 
Is not this one great end of a Revelation ? 1 1 7 

Sect. XXXVII. — On the supposition of any Reve- 
lation, would it not be particularly adapted to the 
circumstances of the poor ? Are not they most in 
need of such extraordinary assistance ? 119 

Sect. XXXVIII. — On the supposition of any Reve- 
lation, would it not probably acquire the assent of the 
majority of the learned ? Would not this distin- 
guish it from the popular belief of Pagan supersti- 
tions? 121 

Sect. XXXIX. — On the supposition of any Reve- 
lation, is it not probable that it would be gradual and 
progressive rather than sudden and instantaneous ? 
Is not this most suitable to the order of the warld arid 
to the nature of man ? - 123 

Sect. XL. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would not its permanence and continuance become 
one of the distinguishing marks of its truth ? Are not 
all impostures transient and mutable ? 126 



Xll 



Sect. XLI. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not probably become the chief medium of 
diffusing knowledge, civilization, and happiness 
amongst mankind ? Does not this probability arise 
out of its presumed connection with the human mind 
and with natural religion ? - Page 129 

Sect. XLII. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not be supported by men of the greatest pro- 
bity and virtue ? Would not the moral characters of 
its opponents become an argument in its favour? 132 

Sect. XLIII. — On the supposition of any true Reve- 
lation, would it not in all probability be clearly dis- 
tinguishable from those which were false and spurious ? 
Would not this manifest superiority become a pre- 
sumptive argument in its favour? - - 135 

Sect. XLIV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not probably be calculated to exalt the mercy 
of God, and to humble the pride of man ? Would 
any religion devoid of these tendencies have been 
suited to the human mind ? - - 138 

Sect. XLV. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
would it not probably become the great instrument of 
diffusing the theory and practice of natural reli- 
gion ? - 140 

Sect. XLVI. — On the supposition of any Revelation, 
is it not probable that it would be the final cause of 
creation ? Is not such a moral and religious dispen- 
sation the noblest project which can fill our concep- 
tions? - - -143 

Recapitulation of the foregoing presumptions. Their 
mutual agreement and consistence exemplified. 146 



Xlll 



A Table of References, by which the force and connec- 
tion of the evidences of the First Part may be ascer- 
tained, - - - - 151 

A Table of the coincidences and connections between 
the First and Second Parts of this work, - 154 



PART THE SECOND. 

THE CREDIBILITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN REVELATION. 

Introductory remarks. — The connection with the 
former part stated. The progressive nature of the 
evidence. - Page 157 

Sect. I. — Is it not possible that the Christian Revela- 
lation may be true ? Is not this possibility conceded 
by all its adversaries ? - - 168 

Sect. II. — Is it not desirable that the Christian Reve- 
lation should be true ? Does not its extreme desir- 
ableness, connected with its possibility, require us to 
examine into its evidences ? - - 170 

Sect. III. — Do not the Scriptural accounts of Reve« 
lation accord with the teachable state of our faculties? 
Does not its probable truth on this account entitk it 
to a candid examination ? - - ] 72 

Sect. IV. — Is it any objection to the Christian Reve- 
lation that it professes to be founded on the evidence 
of miracles ? Is not this the only external evidence 
on which a Revelation could be founded? 176 



XIV 



Sect. V. — Does not the Christian Revelation accord in 
many important particulars with the circumstances of 
mankind ? Is not its morality the same as that which 
reason approves ? Does it not appeal to our hopes- 
and apprehensions? Is it not addressed to the 
hearts and understandings of mankind ? Has it not 
advanced the temporal happiness of our species? 

Page 180 

Sect. VI. — Is it not to this Revelation that we owe our 
settled opinion respecting the creation of the world ? 
Did not all the antients assert the eternity of mat- 
ter? . - - - 187 

Sect. VII. — Is there not some credibility derived to 
Christianity from its connection with an account of our 
creation in a state of innocence ? Is not this the only 
just foundation for the moral attributes of God ? 190 

Sect.' VIII. — Is there not some credibility derived to 
Christianity from its connection with an account of 
our fall from a state of innocence ? Does not this 
accord with the present state of mankind, and with 
our feelings of guilt and self-condemnation? 193 

Sect. IX. — Is not man described faithfully by Chris- 
tianity ? Does not its delineations of human nature 
agree with those of moralists and experience ? 196 

Sect. X. — Is not the present state of man and his con- 
dition in the world suited to such a religion as the 
Christian ? Are not our faculties and external situation 
adapted to our advancement in this religion ? 199 

Sect. XI Is not the unity of God the leading article 

of revealed as well as of natural theology ? Has 
it not been the chief medium of diffusing the belief of 
this doctrine? - 205 



XV 



Sect. XII. — Is there not a universal agreement in 
natural and revealed theology, respecting the 
Divine attributes ? Is there any new and perfectly 
original attribute brought forward by the Scriptures? 

Page 208 

Sect. XIII. — Is it any objection to Christianity, that 
itunfolds to us some new views of the Divine nature? 
Were not discoveries of this kind to have been expect- 
ed in any Revelation of God to man ? 211 

Sect. XIV. — Is not the Deity made known to us in 
revealed religion chiefly after a relative and analo- 
gical manner? Are not all the offices of Christ, 
drawn from relations amongst ourselves, and then 
transferred to the author of Christianity ? 214 

Sect. XV. — Does not Christianity derive some credi- 
bility from its appointment of a mediator between 
God and man ? Could any Revelation have been 
suited to our wants which had not such an appoint- 
ment? - - - - - 217 

Sect. XVI. — Does not the mediatorial office of Christ, 
as exhibited in the Scriptures, correspond with the 
most rational views which can be entertained con- 
cerning this character? Is not the conjunction,,. of 
the Divine with the human nature precisely what that 
character appears to demand ? - - 221 

Sect* XVII. — Is not the miraculous birth of Christ, as 
stated in the Scriptures, analagous in some degree to 
the miracle which must have originally been wrought 
at the first creation of man ? - 223 

Sect. XVIII. — Does not Christianity derives ome credi- 



XVI 



bility from the singular character of its founder ? Could 
such a wonderful character have been invented ? 228 

Sect. XIX, — Is it not a presumptive argument in 
favour of Christianity that it professes to instruct 
mankind by the example of its founder? Is not 
this method of all others the most suited to human 
nature? - Page 23 1 

Sect. XX. — Does not Christianity acquire some cre- 
dibility from its proposing an atonement for our sins? 
Would any Revelation have been suited to mankind 
which did not hold out some atonement ? 234 

Sect. XXI. — Ts not the doctrine of spiritual assistance, 
as contained in the Scriptures, on the whole, congenial 
to the sentiments of reason ? Does it not chiefly 
differ from natural theology in the channel by 
which this influence is derived? 238 

Sect. XXII. — - Is there not some connection between 
the sufferings of Christ, and that principle by which 
adversity is the school of moral excellence? Are 
not there strong moral reasons for his appearing in a 
suffering, rather than a triumphant character ? 241 

Sect. XXIII. — Does not the Christian doctrine of the 
resurrection of the body confirm our natural sen- 
timents concerning the immortality of the soul ? Is 
not this the only hypothesis on which we can found 
our hopes of existing hereafter as the same beings ? 247 

Sect. XXIV. — Are not the Christian doctrines re- 
specting the day of judgment, and of eternal rewards 
and punishments, in close alliance with the suggestions 
of natural theology ? Are not they the same doc- 
trines more clearly and accurately detailed ? 252 



XV11 

Sect. XXV. — Does not Christianity derive some cre- 
dibility from its doctrine respecting the future de- 
struction of the world ? Is it likely that the race of 
mankind will be indefinitely multiplied ? Page 255 

Sect. XXVI. — : Are the mysteries of Christianity any 
argument against its credibility ? Are not they all 
made subservient to moral instruction ? - 258 

Sect. XXVII. — Are the positive institutions of Chris- 
tianity any argument against its credibility ? Are 
not they few, simple, and affecting? - 261 

Sect. XXVIII. — Is not the system of Christianity de- 
livered like that of nature as dependent on the will 
and power of God ? Are we not bound to enquire 
iuto facts as they are ? 264 

Sect. XXIX.— Is not the evidence of Christianity the 
most powerful and comprehensive which can be ad- 
dressed to the human mind ? Does it not combine 
the abstract reasonings of natural theology with the 
historical facts of a traditional religion ? 26? 

Sect. XXX. — Are not the peculiar evidences of Chris- 
tianity the strongest confirmations of natural the- 
ology ? Do not miracles demonstrate the personality 
of the Deity, and prophecies evincehis providence? 269 

Sect. XXXI. — Has not Christianity all the essentials 
of a universal religion ? May we not infer from its 
past effects that it was intended for the benefit of the 
■ whole human race ? - - -271 

Sect. XXXII. — Does not. Christianity profess to be a 
Revelation designed for the benefit of the whole 
world ? Is there any other religion which makes the 
same profession ? - - • 276 



XV1I1 

Sect. XXXIII. — Are the divisions or the vices of Chris- 
tians any argument against the truth of our reli- 
gion ? Does not its liability to abuse naturally arise 
out of man's free agency ? - Page 2*J9 

Sect. XXXIV.— Is it not a strong presumption in 
favour of Christianity, that it is adapted to the capa- 
cities of the poor? Does not this peculiarity distinguish 
it from all philosophic systems of morality ? 283 

Sect. XXXV. — Is it not a presumption in favour of 
Christianity, that its truth has been admitted by the 
majority of the learned ? Does not this distinguish it 
from all the popular superstitions of antiquity ? 286 

Sect. XXXVI. — Does not Christianity derive some 
credibility from its gradual and progressive advance- 
ment ? Could it have possessed the same body of 
rational evidence if it had been suddenly or super- 
naturally diffused ? - 289 

Sect. XXXVII. — Does not Christianity derive some 
credibility from its permanence and continuance in 
the world ? Judging from past experience, is not the 
cause of infidelity hopeless ? - - 295 

Sect. XXXVIII. — Is there not some credibility de- 
rived to Christianity from its past and present influ- 
ence on human happiness ? Is it not hence, the 
most likely method to diffuse civilization throughout 
the world? - - - - 298 

Sect. XXXIX. — Does not Christianity derive some 
credibility from the impieties and contradictions 
of its adversaries ? Do not their lives generally cor- 
respond to the licentiousness of their writings ? 302 

Sect. XL.— Does not Christianity derive some credi- 



XIX 



bility from being the only Revelation which can by 
any possibility be true ? Will any reasonable man be- 
lieve in Mahometanism, who rejects Christianity ? 

Page 308 

Sect. XLI. — Is not the Scripture doctrine that we are 
saved by the free mercy of God strictly in unison 
with the suggestions of enlightened reason ? Would 
not the contrary doctrine be subversive of natural 
theology ? - - - 310 

Sect. XLII. — Does not Christianity acquire some cre- 
dibility from the acknowledged superiority of our 
modern system of natural religion ? Is it not at least 
possible that this superiority may have been derived 
from Revelation •* - - 313 

Sect. XLIII. — Is there not some credibility derived to 
Christianity from the admissions and eulogiums of its 
adversaries? - - - 316 

Sect. XLIV. — Are not the political circumstances of 
the Jews a presumptive evidence in favor of Chris- 
tianity ? - 324 

Sect. XLV. — Does not Christianity derive some credi- 
bility from the superiority of its moral incentives ? 327 

Sect. XLVL— If the founder of Christianity had not 
been divine, would not this religion have naturally 
tended to lead men into idolatry ? Would not our 
gratitude have led us to worship a being who died 
for the sins of the whole world ? 333 

Sect. XLVIL — Is there not some credibility derived 
to Christianity from its aspiring to be the final cause 
of the creation ? - - - -337 

Conclusion. — The amount and consistency of the 
evidence, - - - - 348 

a 2 



XX 

A Table of the Coincidences and Connections of the 
Presumptive Arguments which are contained in the 
Second Part, - - Page 346 

A Table showing the Coincidences and Connections 
between the Second and the First Parts of the Work, 

349 

Notes and Illustrations, - - 353 

Appendix, - 529 

A List of the Principal Authors which are referred 

to in the Notes and Illustrations. - 571 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is the object of the following work to 
exhibit a popular view of what may be 
termed the Intellectual evidence of the 
Christian Revelation. Its direct and histo- 
rical evidence has been so amply unfolded, 
and been laid, before the public in such a 
variety of forms, that it would seem to be 
almost a hopeless attempt to throw any fur- 
ther light upon this subject. Nor have 
those internal proofs of our religion which 
arise from the excellency of its doctrines 
been by any means overlooked or forgotten. 
But it is still a desideratum to possess a 
manual of those evidences which connect 
it more immediately with the philosophy 
of the human mind, which point out its 
relation to the various faculties of man, to 
the order and constitution of the world ; 
and which may thus demonstrate its pre* 
a 3 



XX11 

sumptive truth, from its alliance with our 
intellectual powers and with the moral laws 
of nature. 

Though much of this kind of reasoning 
is to be found scattered in the works of 
our English divines, yet little has hitherto 
been attempted in the way of a regular and 
systematic arrangement of this species of 
evidence. What may be termed the Phi- 
losophy of Christianity, has accordingly been 
but little cultivated, though the philosophic 
principles of the arts and sciences have 
been developed with considerable success. 
Thus Professor Campbell has pointed out 
the connection of rhetoric with the various 
principles of our nature, whilst Adam 
Smith has presented the world with an ad- 
mirable specimen of the same kind of rea- 
soning, in his history of astronomy and of 
the ancient physics. For as the general 
principles of all sciences have their found- 
ation in the constitution of our minds, so 
in a particular degree must this be true in 
those sciences which are more immediately 
related to our moral faculties. If it be a 
fact that any Revelation has been given by 

15 



XXlll 

God to man, it must have been given 
through the intervention of our reason ; 
not only its evidences, but its doctrines 
must bear some proportion and correspond- 
ence to our intellectual faculties. Hence 
it will become not merely an interesting, 
but an important subject of enquiry, to 
ascertain, as far as we are able, the nature, 
and extent of this connection. 

Perhaps, however, the reason why this 
department of theology has hitherto been 
so little cultivated, may be traced to the 
very obscure and imperfect manner in which 
the philosophy of the human mind was 
studied, till Dr. Reid had established it on 
the foundation of inductive science. Even 
now the name of metaphysics is esteemed 
by many as synonymous with all that is 
dark, uncertain, and mystical : they con- 
found the ontological subtilties of the 
schoolmen with the plain phenomena of 
self-observation, and will not be persuaded 
to think that there is no more connection 
between a faithful history of the mind, and 
the imaginary speculations of antiquity, 
than between the experimental philosophy 
a 4 



XXIV 



of Newton and the gratuitous hypotheses 
of Des Cartes. * 

When we appeal to the internal prin- 
ciples of our nature, we appeal to them as 
facts and phenomena of which every man 
is conscious ; we do not attempt to explain 
them as causes but to exhibit them as facts. 
Upon these fundamental principles, all 
truth and all evidence must depend. We 
can be assured of the truth of Revelation 
through no other channels than those 
through which we derive our ordinary 
knowledge ; and in proportion as we can 
trace out this connection between faith and 
reason, we shall enjoy a clear and philoso- 
phic perception of the credibility of Re- 
vealed Religion. 

By this method we shall also be enabled 
to determine the question which has so 
long been agitated respecting the import 
and origin of Natural Religion. For if the 
doctrines of Revelation have a connection 
with the principles of the human mind, 

* See an eloquent apology for this branch of science 
in Stewart's Philosophical Essays, ch. 1.&2. Also a 
masterly review of the same work in Bo^mdler's Selec. 
Pieces, vol.ii. 



XXV 



they must in some measure be natural, 
as well as revealed ; they are not to 
be regarded as arbitrary appointments, 
but as possessing a real foundation in 
the nature and constitution of man. Yet 
if this be true of the peculiar doctrines of 
Revelation, it must apply with still greater 
force to those duties that are founded on 
the obligations which a creature owes 
to his Creator and Preserver. To at- 
tempt to resolve our whole perception of 
such obligations into mere tradition and 
acts of memory, is evidently to misrepre- 
sent the state and condition of our minds. 

But on the other hand, it is equally un- 
reasonable to deny that man was originally 
instructed by his Maker in his religious 
duties ; for it is contrary both to history 
and to reason to imagine that an intelligent 
creature should have been left at his first 
creation, in total ignorance of those obli- 
gations which are due to the Author of his 
being. Upon the principles of sober 
theism, as well as of Christianity, therefore, 
the truth of a first revelation should be 
admitted. But when such an original 
Revelation is allowed, it is impossible to 



XXVI 

ascertain the exact force of its influence 
upon succeeding generations. It is pro« 
bable that it would have some effect even 
upon the most barbarous and unenlight- 
ened; yet this effect, be it more or less, 
would operate through the principles of 
reason and conscience, and should never 
be viewed as a barren historical tradition, 
but as a moral force acting in concert and 
combination with our rational and intel- 
lectual powers. 

Although this appears to be the most 
just and philosophical account which can 
be given of the origin and foundation of Na- 
tural Theology, yet it is not essential to our 
argument that either this or any other theory 
should be here admitted. The question is 
here taken up simply as a matter of fact, 
that whether Christianity be true or false 
as a Divine Revelation, it has numerous 
correspondences with reason and nature; 
that there are plain and manifest tokens in 
it of likeness and resemblance to our moral 
treatment; and that even a great part of the 
difficulties and the apparent objections 
which are to be found in the one, will also 



XXV 11 



upon examination, either equally or par- 
tially apply to the other. 

Now this, being a matter of fact, is to 
be shown by comparison and illustrated by 
evidence. It depends upon an induction 
of numerous particulars which are brought 
forward to substantiate a general propo- 
sition. Whether you believe with Clarke 
and Wollaston that the native faculties of 
reason are, in some degree, able to make 
out these moral deductions ; or whether 
you agree with Ellis and Leland in suppos- 
ing them to be derived entirely from an 
early Revelation ; still, it being a fact ac- 
knowledged by all parties, that such deduc- 
tions are now approved by our understand- 
ings, it becomes of great importance to 
ascertain the nature and extent of this 
harmony between Natural and Revealed 
Theology. 

Without pledging any man therefore to 
a particular theory as to the origin of Na- 
tural Theology, this term is here used in 
its most general and comprehensive accep- 
tation, as comprising all those marks of 
wisdom and design which may be recog- 



xxvin 

nized by the faculties of man, in the human 
character, or in the works of creation. 
Though some may be of opinion that 
neither these marks of wisdom and design, 
nor the duties which result from them 
would have been discoverable without the 
aid of a Divine Revelation, whilst others 
may be disposed to attribute something 
more to the native powers of the mind ; 
yet this difference of sentiment can have 
no effect whatever upon the general force 
of our argument. It is equally true that 
reason approves of these deductions, whe- 
ther she could have originally invented 
them or no ; it is equally true that such 
deductions must be natural, that is, conge- 
nial to reason and nature, whether our un- 
assisted faculties could have produced them, 
or whether some superior power were at 
first requisite to bring them before the 
mind. This is admitted even by those 
writers who are the least disposed to exag- 
gerate the effects of our natural abilities. 
" It cannot be denied," says Leland, " that 
it is a real and great service to religion to 
show that the main principles and duties/ 
of it are what right reason must approve.'* 



XXIX 

" Natural Religion or the law of nature is 
not so called because it was originally dis- 
covered by natural reason, but because, when 
once made known, it is what the reason of 
mankind duly exercised approves, as founded 
in truth and nature." * This is all that our 
argument requires, and less than this cannot 
be acknowledged without totally giving 
up the authority of reason in matters of 
religion ; a doctrine which is equally de- 
structive of Natural and of Revealed Theo- 

lo gy- 

I have thought it expedient to make 
these observations, that the general scope 
and intention of the work might not be 
misunderstood. It was first and principally 
designed for men of a speculative turn of 
mind, who have been accustomed to con- 
template any Revelation as so highly im- 
probable, that scarce any degree of evi- 
dence could persuade them of its truth. 
For as on all moral subjects much will 

* See Leland's Advantage and Necessity of Revela- 
tion, vol. i. sect. 1. Also vol. ii. chap. 1. See also 
Ellis's Knowledge of Divine Things. Introduction 
p*23. and p. 252. 



XXX 



depend upon that state of mind with which 
we enter on our investigations, it appeared 
to be of great importance to lay before them 
a full and candid statement of this ques- 
tion, as it might be considered by a sober 
and unprejudiced observer of nature. There 
is nothing here taken for granted which a 
serious believer in the truths of Natural 
Religion ought not to admit ; nothing which 
is not, in some degree, countenanced and 
supported by the opinions of the ancient 
philosophers or of some modern unbe- 
lievers in Christianity ; or which is not fairly 
deducible from the principles of rational 
theism. From such facts, we have argued 
first as to the presumptions in favour of 
Revelation in general ; and then have en- 
deavoured to ascertain the leading doctrines 
which, it is probable, would be contained 
in such, a Revelation; and we have after- 
wards compared these probabilities with the 
doctrines which are actually made known 
by the Christian Revelation. 

It should be remembered, however, that 
we do not attempt to push our enquiries 
beyond the range of probable and pre- 
sumptive reasoning, leaving the direct and 



XXXI 



historical evidence of Christianity to furnish 
a full and satisfactory attestation to its truth. 
It is our object to clear away those previous 
prejudices which so frequently prevent the 
fair investigation of historical evidence. 
Having effected this purpose, we resign the 
student to those learned and respectable 
writers who have authenticated the canon 
of Scripture, and who have shown, from 
incontestible arguments, the divinity of the 
Christian Revelation. 

Although this be the real object of the 
work which is here submitted to the public, 
yet it has been deemed expedient, for a 
fuller display of the various details which 
compose the argument, to discriminate, as 
far as possible, between the probabilities 
which belong to Revelation in general and 
those doctrines which are made known to 
us by the Christian Revelation. For this 
purpose, the first part is devoted to the 
consideration of such principles as on the 
supposition of any Revelation might be 
reasonably expected to enter into its system. 
These are collected from the natural sug- 
gestions of our minds and from our obser- 



XXX11 

rations on the government of Providence, 
Though it is not pretended that, in all 
cases, we can nicely distinguish our views 
from the associations of that Revelation 
with which we are familiar ; or that, in some 
instances, we may not have fallen upon 
what lawyers would term leading questions, 
that is, questions which carry with them 
their own answers ; yet this, however it 
may affect the speculative beauty of the 
work, is, in reality, the^fullest confirmation 
of that reasoning which is here employed. 
For if it be impossible to speculate ration- 
ally concerning any supposed Revelation 
without adopting the generality of those 
doctrines which have actually been incul- 
cated in the Scriptures, surely this ought to 
be esteemed as no slight indication of the 
indissoluble connection of the Christian Re- 
velation with the dictates of conscience and 
the deductions of reason. 

To convince any man of the force and 
reality of this kind of reasoning, let him 
attempt to reverse the leading particulars 
which are here brought forward as likely to 
enter into any Revelation. Let him endea- 



XXX111 



vour to imagine a Revelation which was not 
founded upon miracles, the discoveries of 
which were neither important nor desirable ; 
which had given no account of the creation 
of man, of his being created in innocence, 
and of his fall from that innocence ; which 
did not correspond to the principles of rea- 
son, nor to the faculties of the human 
mind ; which was not adapted to the present 
state of the world ; which did not inculcate 
the unity of God ; which contained no doc- 
trines incomprehensible to reason ; which 
provided no atonement for our sins ; which 
held out no terrors to the impenitent ; the 
author of which was not distinguished for 
virtue or dignity ; which offered no spi- 
ritual assistance ; which adduced no fresh 
arguments for a future life or for a state of 
rewards and punishments after death ; 
which exhorted us to confide upon our 
own merits, rather than on the Divine 
mercy ; which had not promoted the know- 
ledge, happiness, and civilisation of the 
world ; which was not adapted to the capa- 
cities of the poor, the truth of which had 
not been admitted by the generality of the 

b 



XXXIV 



learned ; which had been opposed by men of 
the greatest virtues and probity ; which had 
not been distinguished by its moral effects, 
&c. &c. I say, let any man attempt to 
frame suppositions of this kind, and he 
will perceive how unreasonable it is to un- 
dervalue our argument on account of 
its want of originality. It is the solidity 
of these speculations which detracts from 
their novelty ; it is the closeness of this 
connection between Reason and Revelation 
which prevents our amusing the reader with 
anomalies and contradictions. 

Rut although this work was originally 
undertaken with no other aim than an 
attempt to counteract the prejudices of un- 
believers, yet, as the author proceeded in 
his plan, he found himself involved with 
opinions of quite an opposite description. 
Every presumptive argument to show the 
truth of Christianity from its agreement 
with the sentiments of right reason, be- 
came also an evidence of its wisdom, and 
consequently an evidence against those who 
would divorce it from reason and nature. 
Thus the same artillery which he had 



XXXV 



pointed against the enemies of Christianity 
was found to be equally efficient against its 
mistaken friends ; no small confirmation to 
his own mind, that the ground which he had 
taken was safe and tenable, and that truth 
and reason and nature were his allies in this 
apology for the Christian Revelation. 

To estimate the force of this kind of evi- 
dence with fairness and candour, it is 
necessary to review it with a calm, con- 
templative, and philosophic eye ; to re- 
member that an argument of this nature 
is strictly cumulative, and that conse- 
quently the loss of a few presumptions will 
not endanger the safety of the rest ; that, 
in many cases, the evidence is to be multi- 
plied by its incidental connection with some 
other probability, that the aggregate weight 
of the whole must be very considerable, 
however little any one may be disposed to 
allow to each independent part ; and that, 
supposing nothing more to follow than the 
bare possibility that Christianity may be 
true, yet every man is bound by reason and 
self-interest, and by all the obligations of 
Natural Religion, to institute a serious en- 
b 2 



XXXVI 



quiry into the evidence of this possible Re- 
velation. 

As an apology for that homeliness of 
style and manner, which to many may 
wear an appearance of carelessness and 
neglect, the author begs leave to remark, 
that it is in fact the result of much study 
and design. After repeated attempts at a 
more regular style of composition, he has 
constantly found that the force of the argu- 
ment seemed to suffer in exact proportion 
as it was accompanied with these exterior 
embellishments. Such is the delicate texture 
of that species of reasoning which is here 
attempted, that it will not endure any thing 
beyond the utmost simplicity and plainness 
of language. Had he worked up his ma- 
terials into a uniform and connected dis- 
course, though something might have been 
gained in appearance, yet much would have 
been lost in reality. The force of presump- 
tive and circumstantial evidence cannot be 
tolerably ascertained without dwelling upon 
all its minutest details. To attempt to 
groupe and to combine is here to exchange 
argument for eloquence ; it is to lose the 



xxxvn 

value and characteristics of a didactic work 
for one of merely desultory reading and 
transient amusement. 

In the Notes will be found a copious 
collection of illustrations and authorities to 
support the general reasonings which are 
here advanced, and in which the reader is 
referred for farther information to writers 
of the greatest eminence in literature and 
theology. The author deems it, however, 
proper to observe, that in far the greater 
number of instances, the reasonings had 
passed through his own mind previously to 
any direct research into the opinions of 
others. They are to be regarded rather as 
separate and independent confirmations of 
such opinions than as the same thoughts 
transcribed into different language. In a 
few instances, he has looked in vain for any 
authority to support his reasonings, and here 
they must be left to stand or fall by their 
own merits. But so generally has he found 
these speculations confirmed by the opi- 
nions of some previous writer of ability, 
that he cannot but feel some' confidence in 
their connection with truth and natupe ; 



XXXV111 



and he is persuaded, that if they are in- 
vestigated with due attention and impar- 
tiality, they will lead the mind into that 
tone of thinking which may dispose it for 
the reception of the most important en- 
quiries. 

At the conclusion of these introductory 
observations, the author would again beg 
leave to express his high obligation to the 
works of Doctor Reid ; and would earnestly 
recommend them to all who feel any in- 
terest in connecting the evidences and doc- 
trines of Revelation with the inductive 
philosophy of the human mind. Nor 
should the writings of his illustrious pupil, 
Professor Stewart, be passed over in silence, 
who has taught all the Graces to sacrifice 
at the shrine of abstract science. To these 
obligations he would beg leave to join 
his acknowledgements to the celebrated 
Analogy of Bishop Butler, a work which, 
hov/ever deficient in philosophical arrange- 
ment, is replete with the most profound 
and original observations on the faculties 
and situation of man when viewed in con- 
nection with the doctrines of Natural 



ii 



XXXIX 

and Revealed Religion. But, to study the 
writings of this eminent prelate to the best 
advantage, it is requisite that the student 
should be previously initiated in the school 
of those distinguished authors, who have at 
length introduced light and order into the 
ancient chaos of metaphysics. Amongst 
these, as it was the wish of Reynolds to 
pronounce the name of Michael Angelo as 
the prince and pattern of painters, so it is 
the grateful ambition of the present writer 
to conclude his preface with the name of 
Reid. 

[See Notes and Illustrations.] 



THE CONNECTION 



OF 



NATURAL AND REVEALED 

THEOLOGY. 



PART THE FIRST. 

THE CREDIBILITY OF REVELATION IN GENERAL. 

SECTION I. 
Is not a Divine Revelation possible I* 

1 hat God can communicate his will in any 
manner which he deems most advantageous 
to mankind, must be admitted by all who 
acknowledge his existence as a wise, inde- 
pendent, and Almighty Intelligence. The 
Creator of our faculties can impart know- 

* See Part II, Sect. I. 
B 



2 



ledge to us in any way which appears most 
proper and desirable to himself. This is a 
proposition so plain and obvious, that it 
may be said to be intuitively evident. 

And that the supposition of a Revelation 
is not merely an abstract possibility, but a 
conception which has frequently occurred 
to the human mind, is plain, from the nu- 
merous pretences which have been made in 
the different ages of the world, to a direct 
communication with Heaven. Had there 
been any thing absurd, or even very remote, 
in the supposition of its possibility, it would 
not have been professed by impostors in re- 
ligion, nor by legislators, to conciliate obe- 
dience to their authority. There would 
have been no success to have been hoped 
from claims which were altogether repug- 
nant to reason, and which had no connec- 
tion with the principles of the human mind* 

But if we have this perception of the 
possibility of a Revelation, it will follow 
that we are capable of receiving proofs of 
its reality, that upon an inferior degree of 
evidence we ought to allow of its proba- 
bility, and that upon a higher degree of 



s 

evidence we ought to allow of its certainty. 
For whatever supposition we can appre- 
hend as possible, L e. which does not in- 
volve a contradiction, or exceed the range 
of our understandings, may be laid before 
us with such evidence as ought to command 
our assent. There are some propositions of 
which we can form no opinion beyond that 
of their necessary truth ; such as the Eternity 
of the First Cause, and the incommunica- 
ble attributes of God. These lie beyond 
the limits of our understandings, we are 
therefore impressed with the belief of their 
necessary existence. But whatever appears 
to us to be possible, may be shown, by pro- 
per and adequate evidence, to be either 
probable or certain ; and, according to our 
convictions of the evidence, we shall lie 
under an obligation to proportion our as- 
sent. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 1.] 



B 2 



SECTION II. 

Is not a Divine Revelation desirable f 

The possibility of a Revelation being 
granted, it is our next enquiry whether it 
be important and desirable that it should be 
true ; for it would be a strong presumption 
against its probability, if we could discover 
nothing to recommend it in this respect, to 
the hopes and wants and wishes of the 
human mind. 

But that it is desirable a weak, frail, 
and fallible creature, like man, should be 
taught and instructed by the All-wise and 
Almighty Creator, and that some commu- 
nications should subsist between God and 
our rational faculties, — this is as plain a truth 
as any which can be laid before the human 
understanding. " Since no one pretends," 
as Paley remarks, " that even under the 
Christian Revelation we have too much 
light, or any degree of assurance which is 
superfluous," it must be admitted, whether 
we believe in a Revelation or no, that 



it would be highly beneficial and advan- 
tageous to mankind, if some communica- 
tions of this kind should take place between 
heaven and earth. This sentiment, if it 
were not self-apparent, might be supported 
by many appeals to the expressed wishes 
of the ancient philosophers. 

But when it is considered that the whole 
constitution of human nature is the work- 
manship of a wise and benevolent mind, it 
deserves our reflection, whether this ex- 
treme desirableness of supernatural assist- 
ance may not, in some degree, import its 
probability ; at least, whether upon the ac- 
knowledged principles of rational theism,, 
we ought not afterwards to be disposed to 
listen to any evidence which might be of- 
fered in its favour. It is from intimations 
of a similar kind in nature, that we are 
often led to form our opinions concerning 
final causes ; particularly concerning the 
ends and objects of our own faculties. 
Thus in natural theology we argue from 
many of the contrivances of nature, to the 
end and purpose for which they were de- 
signed. If then we apply the same reason- 

b, a 



6 

ing to the principles of the human mind, 
we may, perhaps, be inclined to think, that 
this universal sense of our weakness, toge- 
ther with our natural trust on the power 
and goodness of God, is no slight intima- 
tion in favour of a Divine Revelation ; at 
least that it adds something to the previous 
conception of its possibility. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 2,] 



SECTION III. 

Is not the teachable Nature of Man a pre- 
sumptive Evidence of a Divine Revela- 
tion? * 

If it could be shown that the human mind 
was furnished with a great variety of 
innate ideas, and that every individual 
came into the world with a stock of ready- 
furnished materials far thinking, then there 
would exist a considerable presumption 
against the notion of a Divine Revelation, 
from the make and constitution of our 
minds. It might then be argued, that God 
had made ample provision for each of us, 
in the suggestions of our own faculties y that 
as we learnt nothing from each other, but 
depended exclusively on our own resources, 
so it was not probable that we should de- 
rive our religious information from any 
other medium than that of our own breasts, 
Upon such an hypothesis, an external Re- 
velation would not correspond with the fa- 

* See Part II. Sect. S, 
B 4 



8 

culties of man, or with the general appear- 
ances of nature. 

But, upon the contrary, if it be a plain 
and acknowledged fact, that we derive 
nearly all our information from others, and 
that the greatest talents and capacities 
would lie dormant and inactive, unless 
called into exercise by communicated know- 
ledge, then it should not be accounted as 
improbable, that our knowledge of things 
divine may originally have arisen from ex- 
ternal instruction. There would be a foun- 
dation for such an opinion in the frame and 
constitution of our minds, and the entire 
system of human knowledge would form 
an illustration of the style and manner in 
which such a Revelation might possibly 
have been given. But since a Revelation, 
unless it were repeated to each individual, 
(which would destroy and annihilate the 
course of nature,) must be afterwards sup- 
ported by the evidence of testimony, it is 
a still further confirmation of the foregoing 
argument, to find we are so constituted, 
that we are naturally disposed to rely on 
evidence of this description. There is a prin- 
ciple of belief inherent in our nature, inde- 



9 



pendent and prior to all experience, by 
which children are disposed to pay an un- 
limited assent to what is told them by 
others. And though we learn in after-life 
to limit our belief, and to proportion our 
assent to evidence, yet the principle itself 
remains still inherent in our breasts ; and if 
any man were entirely devoid of it, he 
could not continue to live and act in the 
world. His scepticism would first exile him 
from society, and would afterwards starve 
him out of nature. 

Now, it is on the same principle of be- 
lief in testimony r , that a written Revelation 
must depend ; and if we had not been fur- 
nished originally with this disposition of 
mind, we should have been incapable of 
estimating its claims to our regard. But 
since we have been furnished with this 
principle, it betokens our fitness and ability 
to enquire into a Revelation of this descrip- 
tion ; and when it is connected with our 
, instinctive confidence in the Divine vera- 
city, it ought, perhaps, to be viewed as a 
still further presumption in favour of its 
probability. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 3.] 



10 



SECTION IV. 

Upon what kind of Evidence must a Divine 
Revelation depend? * 

There seem but two methods by which 
any revelation could be accomplished. The 
one is by a change in our internal faculties, 
the other by a change in the laws of external 
nature. Had the first been adopted, a 
miracle would have been worked, though 
we might not have been conscious of it. 
It would indeed have been a miracle of a 
far more violent kind, than any with which 
we are now acquainted ; being a direct in- 
terference with the state of our moral and 
intellectual powers. Whether such a miracle 
might not have been performed, if it had 
pleased God, it does not become us posi- 
tively to determine. But we may be allowed 
to say, that it appears to be hardly con- 
sistent with moral wisdom, and would be 
at utter variance with all our experience . 
of God's providential dealings with hi& 
creatures. 

* See Part II. Sect. 4. 



11 

The other method is by addressing our 
natural senses in an extraordinary manner, 
so as to convince the spectator that the 
same power which had originally ordained 
the laws of nature, was now exerted to 
exceed or to suspend their operations for a 
particular purpose, connected with our re- 
ligious and moral welfare. As far as we 
can judge, this is the only sufficient external 
evidence by which such a revelation could 
be authenticated. Unless, then, we are pre- 
pared to deny what has been already ad- 
mitted, viz. the possibility of any Revelation, 
it does not appear reasonable to object to 
the only method by which the knowledge 
of such Revelation could be conveyed to 
intelligent beings, without interfering with 
the constitution of their minds. 

Yet it would be necessary, I apprehend, 
that this miraculous evidence should be 
exerted in unison with those principles of 
wisdom and holiness, which we are irresist- 
ibly impelled to ascribe to the Divine cha- 
racter ; and without which, even miracles 
would fail to persuade us of the reality of a 
Divine Revelation. For we are so consti- 



12 

luted, that we could not believe in any 
Revelation which contradicted the funda- 
mental principles of piety and virtue, or 
which was not fitted to advance the dignity 
and happiness of mankind. 

From these observations it will appear, 
that though miracles be the grand and dis- 
tinguishing evidence on which a Divine 
Revelation must be reared ; yet, that vari- 
ous degrees of credibility will arise in its 
favour, from its connection with our moral 
and intellectual powers, and from its con- 
geniality with the sentiments of reason. 
To suppose a total absence of this kind of 
evidence, would be to destroy all our capa- 
bility of enquiring into its truth ; whereas, 
upon the contrary, to develope and illustrate 
its association with our moral faculties and 
with the government of the world, is, if 
not to demonstrate its truth as a matter of 
historical fact, yet to point out its proba- 
bility as a matter of abstract speculation. 
[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 4.] 



13 



SECTION V. 

Upon the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would be adapted to 
Human Life, as a state of Trial and Dis- 
cipline f * 

Although the very name of a Revelation 
implies the discovery of some important 
facts which could not have been ascertained 
by the natural powers of the mind, and the 
evidence of miracles appears to be essentially 
requisite to convince us of its truth ; yet as 
such Revelation proceeds immediately from 
the Author of our nature, and is addressed 
to rational and intelligent creatures, it might 
be reasonably expected that upon the whole 
it would tally and agree with the circum- 
stances of mankind, rather than disappoint 
or contradict the natural sentiments of their 
understandings. 

The reasonableness of this supposition 
would be apparent, even though we were 
to confine our observations to those parti- 

* See Part II. Sect. 5, 



14 

cular phenomena which, at the first view, 
might seem to contradict it. The evidence 
of miracles is strictly natural, being pre- 
cisely the same evidence as that which we 
daily receive through the medium of our 
senses. If we were to witness a miracle, 
we should witness it with the very same 
faculties as though it had happened in the 
ordinary course of nature. But when this 
miraculous fact has become matter of his- 
tory, the force of this observation becomes 
still more apparent ; for its truth will then 
depend precisely upon the same kind of 
evidence as that of any other historical fact. 
The same principle of belief which inclines 
us to give credit to common facts, when 
reported to us upon good and sufficient 
testimony, will also dispose us to give the 
same credit to these miraculous facts, when 
supported by testimony sufficient to uphold 
them. 

The probability of this connection be- 
tween revealed and natural truth will still 
further appear, if we consider, that unless 
the discoveries of Revelation approved 
themselves to our rational faculties, we 



15 



could not be in a situation to apply them 
to our practical advantage. They would 
neither cheer us in adversity, nor moderate 
us in prosperity. They would not be ac- 
commodated to our hopes, our wants, or 
our wishes ; and, consequently, however we 
might be persuaded of their speculative 
truth, we could not apply them to any pur- 
poses of practical utility. 

And since we are so powerfully affected 
by the circumstances in which we are placed, 
and external nature has so vast an influ- 
ence on our minds, it would appear pro- 
bable that this Revelation should, in many 
respects, be carried on in connection with 
the ordinary course of society ; that what 
we learn in the usual course of Providence 
should in some respects resemble this 
higher and more spiritual constitution ; and 
that our duties, and happiness, and edu- 
cation, as men, should be associated with an 
advancement and progress in this religious 
dispensation. 

Still further to heighten these probabi- 
lities, it should be remembered, that the 
Author of Nature and of Revelation is the 



16 



same ; and that, in the works of the same 
Author, we may naturally look for traits of 
likeness and resemblance ; that man is ad- 
dressed under both dispensations ; that they 
are carried on in the same world, being co- 
existent both in point of time and place ; 
and that the same faculties must necessarily 
be employed in judging of the evidences, 
and in making use of the advantages, of na- 
tural and of revealed theology. 

There is one observation, however, which 
it is of great importance to remember, be- 
cause it will furnish us with a clue to the 
whole presumptive character of such a dis- 
pensation. It is this, that this supposed 
Revelation would, in all probability, be 
adapted to that state of trial and moral dis- 
cipline in which we are placed by nature, 
and under which we are contemplated by 
natural religion. Since we come into the 
world with passions which we are obliged 
to restrain, and since we are surrounded 
with temptations which we are obliged to 
withstand, even for our temporal happiness 
and security, there is every presumptive 
reason to think, that, if any extraordinary 

8 



17 



assistance in religion were afforded to man, 
it would be calculated to meet those pecu- 
liar exigences which arise out of such a 
state of moral trial and probation. 

In proportion then as the example of 
its Author, the tenor of its doctrines, and 
the tendency of its threatenings and rewards, 
were adapted to this state of suffering and 
trial, in that same proportion would it cor- 
respond with the meridian of human life, 
and with the natural suggestions of the 
human mind. Every motive with which it 
furnished us to mortify and subdue our cor- 
rupt propensities, and to enable our reason 
to control our passions ; every doctrine 
which it inculcated to humble our base, and 
to elevate our better inclinations, ought to 
be esteemed an indication of its universal 
connection with natural theology. Since 
nothing which is great, excellent, and noble 
can be obtained in this life, without much 
labour and solicitude, there would be every 
reason to apprehend that a Revelation would 
also encourage the same habits of sobriety 
and self-denial, of patient and persevering 
diligence ; and since human virtues are 

c 



18 



matured and elicited rather by struggles 
and adversities than by ease and enjoy- 
ment, we might naturally anticipate that 
something of the same character and dis- 
position would be found to pervade this ex- 
traordinary dispensation. 

From such considerations we might de- 
duce, with the utmost probability, that if any 
Divine Revelation were afforded, it would, 
in many respects, agree with the constitu- 
tion of nature, and correspond with the na- 
tural suggestions of our minds. And though 
it might not be possible to determine be- 
forehand as to the precise nature and extent 
of this connection, yet, I think, the fol- 
lowing rule might be safely laid down con- 
cerning it : " That in proportion as this 
"■ connection subsisted between things re- 
" vealed and things natural, not only would 
" this Revelation become more credible in 
" itself, but that it would be more adapted 
" to the circumstances of human life, and 
" consequently more intimately associated 
" with the springs of human happiness and 
" virtue." 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 5.] 



19 



SECTION VI. 

Is it not credible that a Revelation was given 
to Man at his first Creation ? * 

Upon the first creation of any intelligent 
beings, it appears to be highly probable, if 
not morally certain, that God would com- 
municate his will to them in some direct 
and extraordinary manner. The circum- 
stances of a first creation seem to suppose 
and require such supernatural aid and ad- 
vice. Since creatures in this situation 
would have no experience to guide them, 
it is every way probable to believe that 
their Creator would become their instructor; 
and more especially if they were placed in 
a state of trial and probation, that He would 
give them such cautionary assistance as 
might put them sufficiently on their guard. 
If they were created capable of religious 
worship, it appears also highly credible that 
He would instruct them concerning the 
manner of discharging these solemn duties. 
These are observations so identified with 

* See Part II. Sect. 6. 
C 2 



20 

reason, and so consonant to our conceptions 
of the divine character, that no reflecting 
theist can consistently question their pro- 
bable truth. 

Since the only objection which can be 
reasonably urged against a Divine Revelation, 
arises out of its supposed interference with 
some previously established course of na- 
ture, it does not appear how such an objec- 
tion can be urged, prior to any course of 
nature being actually experienced. Unless 
we suppose the world to have been eternal, 
and the succession of creatures to have been 
infinite, we must at last mount up to some 
period when, what we now call the course 
of nature, could not have been known. At 
such a beginning of the world, this objec- 
tion against a Revelation arising out of its 
miraculous nature could not be advanced. 
A miracle, according to our conceptions, is 
a departure from those laws of nature which 
are known to us only by experience. 

To these deductions of reason, we may 
conjoin the corresponding traditions of his- 
tory. It was the universal belief of the 
Pagan world, that \he first religion was pre- 



21 

scribed immediately by God. The pre- 
tences of the ancient oracles are also a 
considerable confirmation of this fact ; for, 
if there had been no reality of this kind, 
they could scarcely have gained that credit 
which so long outlived their deserts. A 
counterfeit always supposes the previous 
existence of real coin. 

And here I would beg leave to observe, 
that the Mosaic account of the creation of 
man, as proceeding from a single pair of 
human beings, has been strikingly illus- 
trated by the late accurate researches of Mr. 
Malthus into the principle of population. 
It has now been clearly established, that the 
increase of mankind proceeds in something 
like a geometrical ratio ; that countries, 
under favourable circumstances, have been 
known to double their population within 
fifteen years, and that, consequently, there 
is nothing at all incredible in the statement 
of Scripture, that the whole race of man- 
kind have proceeded from a single pair of 
progenitors, 

Although this was a fact which, from its 
peculiar nature, could not have been pre- 
e 3 



22 

cisely ascertained by human reason, yet, 
when it has been made known to us, it ap- 
pears to harmonise with our sentiments of 
propriety and of moral fitness. It appears to 
be far more adapted to the circumstances of 
our world, that the human race should have 
proceeded from a single pair, and that their 
numbers should have gradually augmented, 
than that superfluous multitudes should 
have been at once created. There is in this 
hypothesis a manifest reference to the ex- 
isting course of nature, which tends towards 
a gradual increase of numbers, and to the 
acknowledged condition of mankind, as 
being capable of propagating their own 
species. Besides, if the world had been 
well peopled at its first creation, there would 
have been no scope afforded for that im- 
proveableness of reason which forms such a 
leading characteristic of our species, and 
which is so intimately connected with the 
acquirement and division of property. In- 
deed, if we are to believe the accounts of 
antiquity, whether sacred or profane* re- 
specting the age of the first generations of 
mankind, it would have been almost im- 



23 

possible for such a state of society to have 
subsisted; whereas, upon the represent- 
ations of Scripture, this protracted length 
of human life served only to accelerate the 
multiplication of the species, and the con- 
sequent cultivation of the earth. 

The origin of language also (if it be al- 
lowed to be of divine construction) is of no 
inconsiderable force, as showing the proba- 
bility of a Divine Revelation ; for it is hardly 
conceivable that language should have been 
given by God without an application to its 
most important purpose, that of using it in 
the service of religion, and for the praise 
and worship of its Author. 

To these probabilities we may add the 
well-known traces of resemblance and inter- 
community which pervaded the most ancient 
forms of religion, and which multiply in 
proportion as we go back into antiquity, 
and approach to the cradle of mankind. 
Thus tradition and reason combine in 
establishing the probability of a first Re- 
velation, to deny which appears to be akin 
to denying the providence of God ; for if 
his paternal care did not extend to the first 

c 4 



24 



ancestors df mankind, how can we be per- 
suaded to think that He now superintends 
the course and constitution of nature ? 

Without such & Revelation, how could 
any just or certain opinions be entertained 
respecting the origin of man, or the form- 
ation of the world by the will and power 
of God ? It was impossible that a creature 
should become acquainted with his own 
origin, otherwise than by the instruction of 
his Creator; a power * superior to that of 
man was required to give him this important 
information. Till this point was ascertained 
upon indubitable authority, reason had no 
data whereon to erect her deductions ; phi- 
losophy was tormented with doubts which 
could not be overcome* and history com- 
menced with hypothesis, and ended in 
uncertainty. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No* 6.] 



25 



SECTION VII. 

Would God have created Man otherwise than 
Innocent f * 

Upon the supposition that man was created 
in his present condition, we charge the 
Deity with being the immediate author of 
all that sin and misery which we feel and 
witness. But how repugnant this suppo- 
sition is to all the principles of reason, and 
how subversive of all the foundations of 
natural theology, need not be shown by 
argument, — it is matter of plain self-evident 
conviction. No doubt, in the wide and 
varied gradations of intellect, there might 
be a place found for beings of no higher 
mental stature and ability than man. It is 
not from the meanness of his understand- 
ing, (which even now is vastly superior to 
his situation,) but from his moral depravity, 
that we argue he would not possibly have 
come out of the hands of his Maker in his 

* See Part II. Sect. 7. 



26 



present circumstances. It is one thing to 
create a being with few and limited facul- 
ties, and another to make him prone to 
evil, and disinclined from all that is good. 
The former act would reflect no kind of 
moral imputation on the character of the 
Deity ; it is but supposing him to set a 
limit to the operations of his power. But 
the latter would be introducing moral evil, 
by necessity, into creation. It would be 
ascribing to God that which it is impossible 
he should directly cause, viz. the existence 
of beings originally evil, and who were 
made by Him, not by themselves, for the 
purposes of vice, and misery, and mischief. 
This being plainly repugnant to reason, 
we are obliged to ascribe the moral evil, 
which we find in creation, to some mis- 
fortune and accident which subsequently 
took place. How this disaster arose, it 
does not appear that reason could accurately 
determine. There seems a general ten- 
dency, however, in the fabulous traditions 
of antiquity, to ascribe it to the agency of 
some evil beings superior to man ; nor 
would it be easy, perhaps, to offer any hy- 



27 

pothesis which is, upon the whole, more 
consonant to reason, or more adequate to 
explain the phenomena we witness. 

Query. Does not this supposition of our 
original innocence derive some credibility 
from our inherent love of the fair and ex- 
cellent, which formed such a distinguishing 
feature in the moral systems of antiquity? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 7-] 



<V V 




28 



SECTION VIII. 

Does not the Possibility of Mans Fall from 
Innocence, arise out of his Free Agency?* 

When Revelation is objected to on account 
of its asserting the fall of man from a state 
of innocence, it is natural to enquire whence 
this catastrophe arose. Now, according to 
Scripture, it arose out of the abuse of 
man's free agency* Whether we receive 
these accounts as a literal or a figurative 
representation of the truth, we must admit 
that he is there considered as free to stand, 
or free to fall, according to the use which 
he chose to make of his moral and intel- 
lectual faculties. 

But if he were a free agent how could 
this have been prevented, but by impairing 
or destroying his liberty of choice and ac- 
tion ? It is essential to every being that is 
its own regulator, to choose its own course 
of action. The whole question, therefore* 

* See Part II. Sect. 8. 



29 

may be resolved into this single question : 
« Could the wisdom or the goodness of the 
Creator have been displayed in any manner 
so powerfully, as by the creation of free 
and responsible beings ?" 

To this question the answer is plain and 
obvious. The finest machinery is nothing 
compared to such a creation, because it is 
not a theme for the display of moral attri- 
butes. The highest notions which we can 
form of the Supreme consists in viewing 
Him as the rewarder of virtue and the pu- 
nisher of vice. It is not happiness alone 
which is the object of moral government, 
but happiness only as it is connected with 
virtue. It is not power alone which is 
exhibited in creation, but power in subser- 
vience to moral wisdom. But for the exhi- 
bition of such attributes, it was necessary 
that free and responsible beings should be 
introduced into nature. 

It may be asked, perhaps, did not God 

foresee this abuse of man's free agency ? 

We grant it ; but was this to prevent him 

from creating man ? If so, why does he not 

now interfere to prevent all abuse of our na- 



30 

tional and physical powers ? The objection 
must be frivolous, when urged against the 
doctrines of Revelation, because it will not 
hold good when applied to the government 
of nature. 

It is the obvious intention of Providence 
that we should be furnished with various 
powers, the use of which is left, in a great 
measure, at our own disposal. There is no 
capacity in our nature which may not be 
turned into the source of misery and 
vice. Health and strength, the talents of 
mind and body, with all the enjoyments of 
fortune, are capable of being perverted 
into the occasions of ruin and wretched- 
ness. Why then should an objection be 
urged against Revelation, which may be 
equally brought against the whole of our 
natural and moral experience ? 

Since it is not possible to conceive that 
any free agent, short of absolute perfec- 
tion, may not mis-employ his powers, 
this objection, if pushed to its full extent, 
will lead us to the conclusion, that no free 
agent whatever should be created. But 
the universe without free agency would be 



31 

but a mighty machine. It would be a dis- 
play of merely physical force ; it would 
afford no exercise for these moral attributes, 
which are so infinitely superior in .grandeur 
and dignity to all other excellence. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 8.] 



32 



SECTION IX, 

Does not the Struggle which subsists in our 
Nature between Reason and Passion, inti- 
mate some Derangement in our moral Fa- 
culties ? * 

Every man is conscious that he has a no- 
tion of duty inherent in his nature ; that is, 
he feels an obligation to follow his reason 
rather than his passions. If this principle 
of duty were able to hold the chief com- 
mand, then, I think, it might be pro- 
nounced in its natural and rightful station ; 
but though we retain the perception of its 
legitimate and essential superiority, yet by 
some strange anomaly, we generally yield 
our obedience to what we know to be se- 
condary and inferior. Thus force becomes 
superior to law, and we live from day to 
day under the worst species of domestic 
tyranny, 

Now this anomaly can hardly be ac- 
counted for without supposing some unna- 

* See Part II. Sect. 8. 



33 



tared derangement in our moral constitu- 
tions. If our passions acted only a subordi- 
nate part, they would be extremely useful, 
perhaps essentially necessary to our present 
existence. Or if their subjection were at- 
tended with only a certain degree of diffi- 
culty, it might be explained from our having 
been placed in a state of trial and of moral 
probation. Butwhen this difficulty has arisen 
to such a height as to render us almost in- 
capable of restraining their violence, then 
it would appear as if our nature itself had 
suffered some violent convulsion. It looks 
like the involuntary motions of a paralytic ; 
the will does not act in unison with the un- 
derstanding, and the conscience protests 
against the illegality of that force which is 
paramount to reason. 

But besides this singular phenomenon, 
we may observe, that we are capable of 
entertaining sentiments of remorse, and 
self-condemnation, and of penitential sor- 
row. Now these are feelings which seem 
plainly to indicate a kind of derangement 
in our moral constitutions. Would it have 
been possible for a creature to repent of 



34 

being in that situation in which God had 
originally placed him ? Could the pangs of 
remorse and penitential sorrow, have found 
any place in the breast of an unspoilt and 
innocent being ? 

There is one observation, which of itself 
might powerfully intimate, that mankind 
was at present in a degraded and unnatu- 
ral situation — the universal prevalence of 
polytheism and idolatry amongst heathen na- 
tions, in opposition to the best dictates of 
reason and nature. Can any theist believe, 
that God would have originally created 
mankind with such dubious opinions re- 
specting the divine unity ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 9.] 



35 



SECTION X. 

Does not the Supposition of our Fall from 
Innocence, derive some Credibility from the 
Contradictions which subsist between the 
Wishes and the Circumstances of Man- 
kind ? * 

" The greatness and the misery of man," 
says Pascal, " being alike conspicuous, it 
is necessary the true religion should de- 
clare that he contains within himself some 
noble principle of greatness, and at the 
same time some profound source of misery. 
For the true religion cannot answer its cha- 
racter otherwise than by searching our na- 
ture to the bottom, so as perfectly to ex- 
plain all that is great, and all that is mi- 
serable in it ; together with the reason of 
the one and of the other." 

If we apply this striking observation to 
those feelings of contempt and dissatisfac- 
tion which wise and virtuous men have so 
generally expressed for the enjoyments of 

# See Part II. Sect. 8. 
D 2 



36 

the present life, we shall find that these 
contradictions can hardly be satisfactorily 
accounted for, without recurring to the 
hypothesis of our fall from a state of some 
higher dignity. It is very improbable that 
sentiments of this kind could have been 
felt by creatures who had continued in the 
state wherein they were originally placed 
by God. It would be subversive of our 
notions of equity to believe that Almighty 
wisdom would have originally created such 
an inequality between the wishes and the 
circumstances of mankind. 

Let those who are conversant with the 
speculations of the ancient moralists, espe- 
cially with those of Epictetus, Seneca, and 
Antoninus, say, whether this observation is 
not verified by almost every page of their 
writings. We are shocked to find that the 
reflections of such eminent men should 
have led them only to an acquaintance with 
their misery, and that in proportion to the 
dignity and elevation of their minds, should 
have been their contempt for the enjoyments 
of the present world. Such contradictions 
almost necessarily imply, that we are in a 



37 

degraded and unnatural situation. Hence 
the same arguments which prove the im- 
mortality of the soul, may also, with 
equal propriety, be used to evince the pro- 
bability of our fall from primeval innocence ; 
for it is inconsistent with our opinions of the 
moral attributes of the Supreme, to think 
that he would have created intelligent be- 
ings dissatisfied and discontented with their 
lot in the universe. 

Query. Was it not from observing these 
contradictions, that so many of the ancients 
believed in the pre-existence of souls ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 10.] 



D 3 



38 



SECTION XL 



Is not the same Supposition rendered credible 
from the numerous external Ills to which 
we are exposed ? * 

If our world exhibited only marks of a 
state of trial and difficulty, there would be 
no reason whatever for supposing it to be 
out of its natural and original condition. 
It is a perfectly supposeable case that inno- 
cent and upright beings might be placed 
in such a situation for the improvement of 
their virtues, without any guilt on their own 
part, or any displeasure on the part of their 
Creator. But besides these marks of trial 
in creation, there are plain and manifest 
traces of punitive justice, or, as some would 
state it, of vindictive wrath. 

When a child comes into the world 
with an incurable distemper, or when 
thousands are prematurely swept away by 
plagues and famines, by the earthquake or 
the sword, it is rather too much to assert 

# See Part II. Sect. 8. 



39 

that all these evils betoken nothing more 
than a state of mere trial and difficulty. 
They are the strongest proofs which can be 
given that we are treated as sinners, that 
we came into the world with the marks of 
sin upon our foreheads. It would be sub- 
versive of all our conceptions of the Divine 
justice and goodness to believe that such 
could have been the treatment of innocent 
and unoffending creatures. 

Though it would be folly and presump- 
tion to assert that God was in any degree 
obliged to endue all his creatures with un- 
limited happiness, and thus to make every 
world a system of optimism, yet it does 
not appear reconcileable to our sentiments 
either of his wisdom or justice, to believe 
that he would create any beings in a state 
of positive suffering and misery. It is far 
more reasonable to conclude, that when any 
beings are found in this state, it has arisen 
from some accident subsequent to their 
creation, and that it has been brought upon 
themselves by their own misconduct. 

It may also be remarked, that the kind of 
religious worship which man is naturally 

d 4 



40 

disposed to pay to God, is not the wor- 
ship of a being who could simply rely upon 
the love and favour of his Maker. Those 
prayers and supplications for mercy, those 
confessions of sin, those sacrifices and 
atonements which have more or less con- 
stituted the worship of all the nations of 
the earth, are so many symptoms of the 
loss of our original rectitude. They are 
strong, though involuntary, confessions, that 
man feels himself out of his proper element, 
and that he is conscious of having violated 
the original charter of his nature. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 11.] 



41 



SECTION XII. 

Are not the hereditary Consequences of the 
Fall in unison with our common Observ- 
ations of Nature ? * 

It is usual to object to the doctrine of the 
Fall as it is stated in Scripture, on account 
of its supposed effects being derived in an 
hereditary manner throughout the whole 
species. If this were a singular and uncom- 
mon phenomenon, there might be some 
force in the objection ; because our expe- 
rience under the ordinary course of Provi- 
dence would then be at variance with the 
discoveries of Revelation : but if we are 
treated by Nature in the same manner, 
then it is an objection not peculiar to Chris- 
tianity, but directed against the whole course 
and constitution of God's moral govern- 
ment. 

Now, first, it should be remarked that 
the health and happiness of children are 

* See Part II. Sect. 3. 



42 

left in a great measure to depend on the 
behaviour and conduct of their parents. 
Long before a child comes into the world, 
his happiness or misery may be anticipated 
to a high degree of probability, from their 
situation and character in society. Thus, 
the children of those who are habitually 
profligate and imprudent have very little 
chance of becoming useful and respectable; 
whereas the offspring of the honest and in- 
dustrious have every opportunity of im- 
provement and advantage afforded them. 
The same observations will also apply to 
great bodies of men, to whole kingdoms 
and nations, the prosperity or downfall of 
which is often left dependent on the virtues 
or vices of a single individual who is placed 
at their head. You may trace marks of the 
same constitution in the animal and vege- 
table worlds, in which excellence or degene- 
racy descends for the most part in heredi- 
tary succession. It is a principle adopted 
also into the codes of human legislation, 
where taint of blood, as in the crime of 
treason, affects children who are yet un- 
born. The same observation will apply 

ii 



43 

generally to our sentiments of honour or 
infamy, which affect not only those who 
have honourably or dishonourably distin- 
guished themselves, but which are trans- 
ferred to the descendants and families of 
such individuals. Thus the child of an in- 
famous parent comes into the world with a 
stain upon his forehead ; he suffers a degree 
of infamy on his parent's account ; and must 
have more than a common share of virtue 
to wipe off the imputation and reproach. 

The truth, however, is, that this is an 
objection to the constitution of mankind a$ 
forming a race, as consisting of members 
of one family, and being capable of con- 
tinuing their own species. For it appears 
to be essential to the nature of a race that 
its members should be mutually affected by 
each other's vices and virtues. They are 
not separate and distinct individuals, but 
branches springing out of one common 
stock. Thus they are connected by vari- 
ous ties of relationship, and are influenced 
throughout the whole of their lives by the 
situations in which they stand towards each 
other. 



44 

But the extreme partiality and narrow- 
ness of this objection is evident from the 
consideration, that we should never have 
heard a syllable uttered against the wisdom 
or justice of this hereditary principle, had 
the result of the trial of our first parents 
terminated in our favour. If we had in- 
herited happiness on account of their inte- 
grity, we should have admired the equity 
of the procedure, just as some men are 
willing to believe in the doctrine of eternal 
rewards, but can give no credence to that 
of eternal punishments. The child of a 
provident parent never dreams of finding 
fault with that constitution of things by 
which the good effects of a father's virtues 
descend upon his offspring. But because 
the result has turned out against us, are we 
at liberty to censure the general principle ? 
And is it not plain that an objection to the 
exemplification of the principle in the con- 
sequences of the Fall, must be false and 
unfounded, when we find the same principle 
diffused and operating in every part of 
nature ? 

It should be considered, indeed, how far 
it is reasonable and philosophical to object 



45 

to any doctrine as stated by Revelation? 
which is consistent with our actual experi- 
ence, and which is able to account for the 
phenomena of the moral world. The pro- 
bable truth of such a doctrine should al- 
ways be sufficient to silence the merely 
speculative difficulties which may attend 
its acknowledgment. Thus, if it be an 
undoubted fact that the errors, faults, and 
imperfections of human nature are propa- 
gated from father to son, I know not why 
any man should object to the statement 
of the Scriptures — that these evils and 
mischiefs would not have been felt if our 
first parents had continued in their inte- 
grity. The chief difficulty lies in ima- 
gining how such moral qualities can *be 
propagated; but this difficulty, whether 
it be greater or less, must be overcome, 
because it is a fact with which we are all ac- 
quainted. All that is peculiar to Revela- 
tion, tends rather to diminish the difficulty 
than to increase it, inasmuch as it attributes 
these maladies not to the original forma- 
tion of man, but to the subsequent abuse 
of his faculties. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 12.] 



46 



SECTION XIII. 

Is it not probable there are other intelligent 
Creatures in the Universe besides Man ? 

We are assured by Revelation that there 
are different orders of created beings, spi- 
rits of a higher rank and dignity than man, 
of whom some are good and excellent, 
others rebellious and depraved. There is 
no hint, however, given us that any crea- 
ture was made originally evil, but that he 
became corrupt by a voluntary abuse of 
his natural and moral powers. 

Now this account of Revelation appears 
to be strictly consonant to reason, for it 
seems by no means probable that man is 
the only intelligent creature in the uni- 
verse. He is apparently too low in the 
scale of intellect to hold the highest de- 
partment in creation. This probability 
is still further heightened by the disco- 
veries of modern astronomy, which opens 



47 

to us worlds moving under the same laws 
as our earth, and in all likelihood peopled 
with millions of inhabitants. 

But if there are different orders of in- 
telligent beings, it is more probable that 
some are evil and some are good, than 
that all should be precisely of the same 
moral character. This probability arises 
out of the nature of free agency, which is 
always liable to perversion and abuse. 
Symptoms of the same variety being dis- 
coverable in our little course of nature, 
it should not surprise us to learn that 
it extends to the other quarters of crea- 
tion. 

The force and reality of these probabilities 
may be in some degree estimated from the 
universality of these opinions amongst all 
nations, whether savage or civilized ; nor 
does it at all affect the argument, whether 
this belief arose from early tradition, or 
from its congeniality with the sentiments 
of reason. If it arose from tradition, then 
it must be admitted as true ; if from rea- 
son, then it must be admitted as probable. 



48 

The fact itself is placed beyond dispute ; 
we leave it to every man to form his own 
opinions respecting the cause. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 13.] 



49 



SECTION XIV. 

Is it not credible that some Evil Spirits might 
have tempted Man to disobey his Maker? 

From what we observe in the present 
world, we may learn that superiority of 
talent is by no means invariably allied to 
moral excellence, but that its influence is 
frequently applied to seduce and outreason 
those of inferior abilities. If then we are 
informed, that the fall of our first parents 
was in some measure brought about by 
the contrivances and machinations of evil 
beings of a higher rank and dignity than 
man, there is nothing in this intelligence 
which can at all shock our conceptions 
of what is probable. Does it not seem to 
agree with what is daily passing around 
us? Do not we frequently behold those 
of greater talents alluring others into guilt 
and error ? 

If it be objected that the temptation 
would on this supposition be too strong to 



50 

be resisted, we reply that this insuperable 
force is by no means implied in the repre- 
sentations of Scripture. On the contrary, 
man is there described as feeling himself 
morally guilty because he had wilfully trans- 
gressed a known command. Now, if he 
were induced to do this by the superior 
sophistry of the tempter, he acted pre- 
cisely like those who are now overcome by 
the temptations and allurements of others ; 
and he was guilty upon the same account, 
that we should now reckon any individual 
to be culpable, who listened to such evil 
suggestions, though he might be far infe- 
rior in talent. 

If it be again objected, that the con- 
sequences of a single crime are here re- 
presented as excessive, it should be re- 
membered, that it is not possible for us to 
ascertain what might be consequences of a 
first departure from right, and thus of in- 
troducing sin into a nature which was be- 
fore sinless. It appears, however, probable 
that such consequences would be extremely 
awful and tremendous, and would, in some 
degree, produce a natural and necessary 



51 

change in our whole moral treatment. A 
state of penitence must be widely different 
from a state of innocence. 

Still we grant there would be something 
to be hoped under this terrible calamity. 
If man fell by the temptations of a superior 
being, though he participated in the crime, 
the greater share of guilt belonged to him 
who was the author and cause of his ruin. 
To regain his dignity he must be brought 
into a state of trial, and discipline, and pe- 
nitential sorrow; his virtues must hence- 
forth spring from unfeigned humility, and 
from humble hope on the Divine Mercy. 
The marks of this change are now to be 
looked for in the external world, and in the 
convictions of the human mind. To both 
of these we appeal for credible evidence in 
support of our reasoning. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 14.] 



E 2 



52 



SECTION XV. 



Is it not probable that Man upon his first 
Creation might be allowed to hold converse 
with beings different from himself? 

Much absurd ridicule has sometimes been 
thrown upon Scripture from its represent- 
ing man in a state of innocence, as convers- 
ing with an order of beings different from 
any with which we are now acquainted. 
But if he were in a state of solitude, does 
it not seem probable that he would be 
allowed to hold converse with other intel- 
ligences ? If there existed but a single pair 
of human beings, and these but a little 
lower than the angels, is it not reasonable 
to suppose that God would permit such 
creatures to visit him, and to impart some 
intelligence respecting the other quarters 
of Creation ? 

The whole force of the objection arises 
from not sufficiently considering that in 
this case either no course of nature was 
permanently established, or that it was 



53 

quite a different course from that with 
which we are now acquainted. It might 
have been natural, under these circum- 
stances, that man should have held commu- 
nications with angelic beings. Perhaps his 
rational faculties could not have been suffi- 
ciently exercised without some intercourse 
of this kind, or what is still more probable, 
perhaps he could not have been brought 
into a state of trial and probation, without 
such communications. Or it might have been 
a dispensation of mercy which permitted 
him to fall by the temptation of a superior 
being, rather than by a self-suggested mo- 
tive to evil. In the one case, by dividing 
the guilt with another, it might have ad- 
mitted of some extenuation, and thus have 
allowed of pardon upon repentance, where- 
as in the other, he might have been placed 
in the desperate situation of those rebellious 
spirits to whom no place for repentance is 
left. 

Any of these suppositions appears suffi- 
ciently credible to rescue the representations 
of Scripture from profane ridicule and igno- 
rant objections ; and though not pretending 
e 3 



54 

to account for the whole of the case, it may 
convince us, that considered as matter of 
speculation, there is far more probability in 
these relations than is commonly imagined, 
i. e. they are more consistent with the sug- 
gestions of reason, and more nearly ap- 
proaching to the course of an ordinary 
experience. 

But it should also be remembered, that 
profane history agrees in this respect with 
the representations of the sacred records ; 
and that, whether the belief of such super- 
natural communications in the heroic and 
fabulous ages, arose from tradition or from 
its supposed congeniality to reason, a strong 
presumptive argument will hence arise to 
confirm the accounts of Revelation. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 15 J 



55 



SECTION XVI, 



What is the present Character and Situation 
of Mankind f % 

If we contemplate man as described by 
moralists, or as experienced by ourselves, 
we shall find that he is a being partly good 
and partly evil, having a wonderful mixture 
of contending principles in his nature, ex- 
hibiting extraordinary traces, both of dig- 
nity and meanness, exalted by something 
which is almost divine, and yet degraded 
by propensities which are scarcely human. 

Correspondent to these strange pheno- 
mena of his nature, is the situation in 
which he is placed. The world presents 
us with the appearance of a Paradise in 
ruins. Misery and happiness go hand in 
hand ; on one side, you behold fertility and 
enjoyment ; on the other, poverty and dis- 
ease, the famine and the sword. 

Still there is a general predominance of 
hope and of happiness which cheer and 

* See Part II. Sect. 9. 
E 4 



56 

enliven the struggles of human life ; still 
there is a capability of repentance and an 
abstract love of virtue which bespeak grace 
and dignity in this astonishing creature. 
Amidst all his sufferings he does not appear 
forsaken by God; he does not wear the 
countenance of a being who is utterly exiled 
from mercy. As there is a sun which 
shines upon him even when the tempest 
rages, so there is a Providence which watches 
over him in his bitterest afflictions ; which 
bids him look upon his chastisements as 
designed for his correction, not as punish- 
ments inflicted for his ruin. 

Flow much might be done for such a 
creature, by acquainting him with the cause 
of his calamities, by assuring him that his 
repentance would not be fruitless, that his 
hopes of pardon were not delusive, and that 
mercy and forgiveness were in store, if he 
would accept them upon just and equitable 
terms. 

There seems to be a latent capacity in 
our moral constitution which requires only 
adequate assistance to bring it to a practical 
account; some intelligence which might 

ii 



51 



illuminate our prospects of the future, and 
clear away oar doubts of the past. Reason 
herself might do something towards effect- 
ing a reformation, if the source of our dis- 
asters were clearly known ; but she might 
do much more in concert with Divine as- 
sistance ; especially if any method were 
pointed out by which our Maker, consist- 
ently with justice, might pardon the trans- 
gressions of Man, and enable him again to 
enjoy the expectations of happiness. 

These views of human nature are fully 
countenanced by the history of mankind. 
How noble, yet how abortive were the 
struggles of the ancient philosophers to find 
out the road to truth and virtue ! They had 
evidently a force which needed direction 
and capabilities which might have been im- 
proved into piety. Who can doubt that 
such men as Socrates and Aristides, or as 
Cicero and Seneca, might have made the 
highest advances in moral excellence, if 
their principles had been duly rectified, and 
if their minds had been enlightened by a 
more propitious course of religious edu- 
cation ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 16.] 



58 



SECTION XVII. 

Might not Man entertain some faint Hopes 
of Pardon, on Repentance f * 

However much the situation of man was 
changed by the Fall, both in regard to his 
internal dispositions and his external enjoy- 
ments ; still, that he was not left in utter 
hopelessness of obtaining help and pardon, 
is apparent from the whole constitution of 
the natural and moral world. 

Though his mind was deranged and his 
passions disordered, still there was the 
image of God engraved upon his reason. 
He was both able and willing to offer 
up some kind of worship to the Supreme ; 
he had a conscience which could mourn 
over past transgressions, and which could, 
in some degree, warn him against future 
evils. He was not so lost to hope, but he 
could pray for mercy ; nor so lost to virtue, 
but he could feel the unworthiness of vice. 

* See Part II. Sect. 10. 



59 

He was still a fit subject for expectations, 
for reproofs, for correction, and for reward ^ 
and though he had forfeited his innocence, 
yet that virtue remained within his reach, 
which consisted in attempting to restrain 
his passions and to improve his heart and 
understanding. 

That such a creature would entertain 
some hopes, mingled with many appre- 
hensions, is plain from the nature of the 
case, as well as from the voice of history. 
When he looked around upon creation, he 
beheld the same traces of penitential 
punishment softened by mercy. Though 
condemned to toil and labour, he had some 
mitigations of misery ; his patience and in- 
dustry could avail, in some degree, to im- 
prove his situation. Though exposed to 
pains and sickness, yet he found various 
remedies provided in nature, and the ten- 
dency to heal (vis medicatrix natures) inherent 
in his body. By his own fortitude and per- 
severance, or by the help and assistance of 
others, he could do much towards render- 
ing his external situation more comfortable ; 
whilst by habits of self-restraint and self- 



60 

government, lie could attain to a consider- 
able portion of mental ease and tranquillity. 

" Of a disposition in God," says Barrow, 
" to remit offences, that all men have ever 
had a presumption, their application to him 
in religious practice doth show ; for no man 
would address himself in service to God, 
without a hope that God is reconcileable 
to him, and that his service therefore may 
be acceptable ; particularly the general prac- 
tice of offering sacrifice for the expiation 
of sin, and of appeasing God's wrath, does 
plainly declare the same. 5 ' 

Yet, on the other hand, as Dr. Price re- 
marks, " the consideration of ourselves as 
guilty creatures would raise doubts in our 
minds, and these doubts would not be les- 
sened, but increased, by reflecting, that 
under the Divine government, happiness 
is connected with virtue, and punishment 
with vice. The fact that virtue shall be 
rewarded, does not by any means deter- 
mine what such virtue as ours may expect. 
The virtuous amongst mankind are to be 
considered as penitent sinners, and what 
peculiar treatment the cases of such may 



61 

require, or how far repentance may avail 
to break the connection between sin and 
misery, would not, I think, be clear to us." 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 17.] 



62 



SECTION XVIII. 

Does it not seem probable that some extra- 
ordinary Assistance would be granted to 
aid Man in his moral Difficulties ? * 

From all that we can judge of the attrir- 
butes of our Maker, by the sentiments of 
reason and by our experience of that love 
which is over all his works, it appears na- 
tural to conclude, if any method existed by 
which mankind could be rescued from de- 
struction consistently with the Divine jus- 
tice, that God would be disposed to extend 
his mercy to his fallen creatures. But 
whether this could be done without in- 
fringing on our moral freedom, or without 
trenching on the Divine holiness, it does 
not appear that reason could determine with 
sufficient confidence. 

This help, however, if it came at all, 
must evidently come in an extraordinary 
manner. It was not by the mere exertions 

* See Part IL Sect. 10. 



6 



o. 



of reason that man could hope to regain 
the ground which he had lost. Upon the 
supposition that he had fallen from his na- 
tive innocence, he had become incapable, 
without Divine assistance, of making those 
exertions which were necessary to his re- 
storation. 

But nothing being impossible to God 
which does not imply a contradiction or 
an absurdity, why should it be thought that 
the redemption of the world was either 
beyond the power or contrary to the will 
of Him who had created it ? Since those 
who have fallen into difficulties may often 
be helped by others in conjunction with 
their own endeavours, and since Nature 
prompts us mutually to afford and to ex- 
pect this assistance, why should it be thought 
incredible that the universal Father might 
devise some scheme of mercy to aid man in 
his present exigencies, and to afford him a 
capability of working out his salvation ? 

For the confirmation of these abstract 
reasonings we might appeal to the writings 
of many of the ancient philosophers — par- 
ticularly to the opinions of Socrates, as re- 



64 

presented by Plato. From these, it would 
appear that several of the more reflecting 
Heathens, not only acknowledged their 
want of a Divine Revelation, but even ex- 
pressed their hopes that God would be 
pleased to grant some further extraordinary 
intimations of his will; whilst they were 
generally persuaded that mankind were al- 
ready indebted to a previous Revelation 
far the scanty remains of that religious 
knowledge which they even then possessed. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 18.] 



65 



SECTION XIX. 

In what Manner does it seem most probable 
that a Revelation would be made known ? % 

Upon the supposition of any Revelation, 
it seems scarcely possible to imagine that it 
should not be attended with the institution 
of some form of worship — and that this 
worship should not be adapted to the pecu- 
liar situation of mankind as penitent sinners, 
who might hope for pardon and assistance 
on their sincere repentance and reformation. 

The first and leading feature of this form 
of worship would probably consist, then, in 
its impressing them with the distinction be- 
tween a state of innocence and that of peni- 
tence. That whereas the one might secure 
happiness by its own merits, the other must 
be rescued by some extraordinary act of 
mercy exerted in its behalf. 

Now, these being sentiments congenial 
to Nature, as well as enforced by Revela- 
tion, will account for the universal preva- 

* See Part II. Sect. 10, 

F 



66 

lency of a sacrificial form of worship amongst 
all the nations of the earth. Though the 
institution of sacrifices was divine, yet this 
institution was not a merely arbitrary ap- 
pointment, but one given in unison and 
acting in co-operation with the principles of 
reason and the dictates of conscience. Man- 
kind carry about with them the conviction 
of their being guilty and offending creatures, 
and that, if saved, they must be saved by 
the free mercy of God, rather than by their 
own merits. Hence, when sacrifices had 
been appointed by God, they found a ready 
support from the moral principles of Na- 
ture; and though, their peculiar reference 
to a Redeemer was gradually forgotten in 
the Pagan world, yet they still served as 
" a remembrance of sin," and reminded the 
worshipper of his dependence on the Divine 
mercy and forgiveness. 

Another method by which a Revelation 
would, in all probability, be proposed, 
would be by the re-publication of the ori- 
ginal moral code which we had before re- 
ceived, but our knowledge of which was 
now rendered so obscure by sin. For 



67 

though it would be impossible for man in 
his fallen situation to pay to it a full and 
faultless obedience, yet much might still be 
effected, if these duties were laid before 
him with plainness and perspicuity, and 
with the force of a law proceeding imme- 
diately from God. To this would probably 
be added a clearer view of our condition 
after death, and of the rewards and punish- 
ments which would inevitably attend upon 
the righteous and the wicked. 

Though nothing, I think, could with cer- 
tainty be anticipated as to the particular 
channel by which such a Revelation would 
be brought down to us ; yet as the evidence 
of miracles appears to be essential to its 
credibility, there would perhaps arise a 
general probability that some heavenly 
messenger might be employed as its com- 
missioner ; some superior spirit whose rank 
and dignity might give weight and import- 
ance to the intelligence. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 19.] 



F 2 



68 



SECTION XX, 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that the Unity and Person- 
ality of God would form a leading Article 
of Instruction f * 

Although it be true that the suggestions 
of nature, and the conclusions of reason, 
dispose us to acknowledge the Unity of the 
Divine Being, yet from the weakness and 
frailty of our natural powers, (to whatever 
cause this calamity be ascribed,) the great 
majority of mankind in all ages have been 
extremely prone to fall into the errors of 
idolatry and polytheism. 

It may be questioned, indeed, whether 
this article of the Divine Unity were ever 
heartily believed by the bulk of any nation 
of antiquity besides the Jews. Whatever 
might have been the speculations of philo- 
sophers, the multitude was sunk in the 
grossest idolatry. Even many of those phi- 

* See Part. II. Sect. 11 and 12. 



69 



losophers, who admitted the Unity of God, 
denied his providence over the world ; and 
thus, as Cicero remarks, what they spe- 
culatively allowed they practically denied. 
The strict personality of the Deity seems 
scarcely to have been admitted by any ; for 
there is a tincture of pantheism in their 
sublimest descriptions of the Divine Nature, 
which approaches very nearly to the mo- 
dern doctrines of Spinosa. 

Now, upon the supposition of any Reve- 
lation, there arises a strong presumption 
that this important doctrine of the Unity of 
God would form a principal article of in- 
struction, and that it would be inculcated 
in such a plain and practical manner as to 
insure its reception and belief wherever 
this Revelation was make known. And it 
might be anticipated, I think, that such 
would be the effect of any testimony which 
God should deliver concerning himself. 

Now, as it might be justly objected to any 
Revelation if it had not succeeded in esta- 
blishing this belief of the Divine Unity, so 
it ought, on the other hand, to be esteemed 
a strong presumptive evidence in its favour, 
f 3 



70 



if, through the intervention of such a sup- 
posed Revelation, the generality of mankind 
should have been brought to acknowledge 
this primary doctrine of Natural Theology. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 20.] 



71 



SECTION XXL 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, was it 
not probable that some new Relations would 
be discovered to us respecting our Con- 
nection with the Divine Being ? * 

Since the very conception of a Revela- 
tion includes the supposition of some doc- 
trines not discoverable by our natural facul- 
ties, we may reasonably enquire whether 
there was not a previous probability that 
some of these unknown doctrines would re- 
late immediately to our connection with the 
Divine Being ? 

That this was at least probable, will 
appear to every one who considers the great 
ignorance and darkness of the Pagan world 
respecting the Divine Nature and Per- 
fections. If God should condescend to 
instruct man in the way of an extraordinary 
Revelation, it appears almost inconceivable 
that he should not give us some further 
information respecting himself. That this 

* See Part II. Sect. 13. 
F 4 



72 



information could not contradict our natural 
convictions concerning the Deity, we rear- 
dily allow ; but it might open to us certain 
views of his nature which could not have 
been otherwise attained. And this, it is 
even probable it would do, considering the 
general darkness and mystery which neces- 
sarily belong to this sublime subject. 

There would be every reason to hope, 
however, that these discoveries would be 
made in a way suited to our faculties, not 
like the abstract speculations of philosophy, 
but blended with practical and moral truth, 
so that we might apprehend their reality 
and importance, though we could not pierce 
into the manner of their existence. This 
being the style in which we are ordinarily 
instructed in the works of Providence, where 
we learn to acknowledge the wisdom and 
goodness of God from their visible effects 
upon creation, it seems to be highly pro- 
bable that if any new discoveries were 
made to us concerning the Deity, that they 
would be brought home to our hearts by a 
similar manifestation of favour and goodness* 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 21. 2 



73 



SECTION XXII. 

Is not the Deity made known to us in Na- 
tural Theology, chiefly after a relative and 
analogical manner ? * 

The learned author of the Treatise enti- 
tled " Things Divine and Supernatural, 
conceived by Analogy with Things Natural 
and Human," has shown with great force 
of argument and variety of illustration, that 
all our language respecting the Divine Na- 
ture and Attributes, is to be understood as 
implying a certain relation and correspond- 
ence between heaven and earth, between 
the conceptions of our imperfect faculties 
and the realities of the Divine Being. 

Thus, when in the language of Natural as 
well as of Revealed Theology, we address God 
as the Creator of all things, as our Father, 
Governor, and Preserver, we derive these 
conceptions, in the first place, from terres- 
trial objects, and then we apply them analo- 

* See Part II. Sect. 14. 



74 

gically, that is, with an imperfect and yet a 
real relation to the Maker of heaven and 
earth. We borrow the sublimest notions 
of earthly power and grandeur, and after- 
wards we apply them to Him who is far 
above, out of our sight, yet who conde- 
scends to furnish us with these faint simi- 
litudes of his glory. 

The same relative interpretation must 
also be understood when we speak of the 
moral attributes of the Divine Being. We 
cannot directly apprehend the goodness, 
the holiness, the mercy, or the justice of 
God ; but since we have some conceptions 
of these attributes derived from the works 
of creation, and from reflecting upon our 
own minds, we transfer these conceptions 
to the Divine Intellect ; and we are satisfied 
that they must bear some relation, how- 
ever distant, to the essential attributes of 
the Supreme. 

Now, as these remarks extend more or 
less to every part of Natural Theology, so 
are they clear and indisputable evidences 
of its connection with the philosophy of 
the human mind. They afford lucid and 



15 



satisfactory proof of the illustrations which 
arise from a sober survey of our faculties ; 
and they exhibit traces of that union and 
connection which may every where be dis- 
covered between the natural and the moral 
government of the world. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 22.] 






76 



SECTION XXIII. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would be published by 
some Being of extraordinary Dignity ? * 

Since the noblest office which we can ima- 
gine to be held by any created being, con- 
sists in his appearing as the herald and mes- 
senger of a Divine Revelation, it seems pro- 
bable that some superior and exalted Spirit 
would be selected for this singular purpose. 
Considered only as the messenger of such 
tidings, it would appear as if the loftiest 
created being would be honoured by a 
commission which necessarily implies a 
mediation between God and Man. But if, 
besides his acting as the herald of the in- 
telligence, he should be called upon to exe- 
cute the work itself, if the fulfilment of the 
plan should devolve upon the powers of the 
mediator, then it seems impossible for reason 
to determine whether any being, less than 
Divine, could undertake the duty. 

* See Part II. Sect. 15—18. 



77 



There would be considerable grounds to 
apprehend lest an office of this sublime 
description could hardly be fulfilled by any 
dependent being. There appears some- 
thing beyond the powers of a secondary 
agent implied in the character of a mediator 
betwixt Heaven and Earth. It looks like a 
voluntary and independent office, not like 
that of a mere instrument to deliver the 
message, but of a party related, and allied 
equally to the Creator and the creature. 
It seems to demand the influence of one 
who could sign and seal the reconciliation 
by his own name and authority. 

Though we do not pretend that reason 
could have clearly anticipated the necessity 
for the appearance of such a wonderful cha- 
racter, yet there is so much of propriety 
and Jltness in these views, that they should 
at least not be objected to, if realized by 
a particular Revelation professing to come 
to us through such a medium. The dis- 
covery ought not to surprise us as impro- 
bable, because we have no reason to conclude 
that any created being could be furnished 
with independent powers sufficiently ample 



78 

to execute the office of a mediator between 
God and Man. 

Quere, Would not the influence and 
authority of a Revelation, be in proportion 
to the dignity and perfection of its imme- 
diate author ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 23.] 



79 



SECTION XXIV. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that the Example of its Founder 
would become a great Evidence of its 
Truth f * 

Since the human mind is so powerfully in- 
fluenced by example, it might have been 
reasonably expected that if any Revelation 
was given by God to man, a considerable 
part of its evidence would arise out of the 
moral and religious character of its founder. 
A Revelation which was deficient in this 
respect, would certainly excite strong pre- 
judices against its truth ; so much so, per- 
haps, as to countervail any direct evidence 
which might be offered in its support. 
These prejudices it should be remembered^ 
would not be the offspring of pride or 
caprice, but the natural, nay the virtuous 
tendencies of our moral constitution. 

If the example of the author of a Reve- 
lation were not made subservient to the 

* See Part II. Sect. 19. 



80 

instruction of his followers, one great and 
leading motive for their virtues would be 
altogether lost. It may be doubted, indeed, 
whether, according to the acknowledged 
principles of human nature, the finest pre- 
cepts of morality would have produced any 
lasting or general effects, which were not 
supported and consolidated by the practice 
and example of their teacher. 

From such considerations we might rea- 
sonably conjecture, that, in the event of any 
Revelation being given to man, the life and 
example of its founder would afford a strik- 
ing mark of its truth, and that much 
of its practical utility would operate 
through this channel of instruction. When 
we consider indeed the eminence, autho- 
rity, and influence which any teacher 
coming from God would possess over the 
minds of his followers, I am inclined to 
think, that we should state this argument, 
not as a presumptive mark of a Revelation, 
but as a necessary criterion of its truth. 
Perhaps the following canon might be safely 
laid down concerning it, " that in propor- 
tion as the example of the founder of a 



81 

Revelation was calculated to instruct and 
improve mankind, in that same proportion 
was this Revelation likely to be of practical 
utility, and the V calculated to answer 
the purposes of a Divine interference." 

[See Nates and Illustrations, No. 24.] 



G 



82 



SECTION XXV. 



On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would contain some 
Doctrines relative to Sacrifice and Atone- 
mentfor our Sins f * 

Since all men carry about with them some 
convictions of their being guilty and offend- 
ing creatures, and the better part of man- 
kind entertain some dubious hopes of par- 
don on their repentance, it would appear 
highly probable, that if any Revelation were 
given, it would enlarge upon and explain 
to us these moral sentiments of our minds. 
And more especially since sacrifices have 
been universally prevalent amongst man- 
kind, it seems hardly conceivable that some 
doctrines of this Revelation should not refer 
to this striking phenomenon in the worship 
of all nations, whether barbarous or civil- 
ised. For whether the origin of sacrifices 
be divine or human, they are a clear mani- 
festation of the sentiments of mankind 

* See Part II. Sect. 20. and 22. 



83 

respecting the propriety of some atonement 
for our sins, beyond that of mere sorrow 
and repentance. 

A Revelation which had been altogether 
silent on these interesting topics, would 
plainly have been unsuited to the circum- 
stances of mankind; it would not have 
been adapted to the suggestions of our 
minds, nor to our situation as penitent 
sinners ; but these are canons which have 
already been laid down as likely to be appli- 
cable to any religion coming from God; with- 
out which it could not be addressed to intel- 
ligent creatures, nor prove in any degree 
serviceable to their wants, or answerable to 
their wishes. 

Hence, although it would be impossible 
to anticipate with precision the exact nature 
or extent of those doctrines, which might 
be brought forward in a Divine Revelation, 
relative to sacrifice and atonement for sin ; 
yet it would have been clearly apparent 
that something of this kind would be con- 
tained therein. Without some discoveries 
on this subject, a Revelation however splen- 
did in its moral system, would not have been 
g 2 



84 

congenial to the sentiments and situations of 
mankind ; it would want the leading charms 
for those who feel themselves guilty and 
criminal in the sight of God. It might en- 
large our knowledge, but it would disap- 
point our hopes ; and though it might pre- 
sent a brilliant and dazzling spectacle, yet 
it would fail of producing any solid or sub- 
stantial advantages. The whole history of 
mankind shows that we require, under some 
form or other, a sacrificial kind of worship, 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 25.] 



85 



SECTION XXVI. 

Is not the Belief of Spiritual Aid and Assist- 
ance implied in Natural as well as in 
Revealed Theology ? * 

There can be no Religion without trust 
and confidence in God, without believing 
that he is the rewarder of those who dili- 
gently seek him, and that he is ready to 
hear and answer the prayers of those who 
earnestly call upon his name. But a belief 
of this kind necessarily implies the per- 
suasion that some spiritual communications 
may subsist between Earth and Heaven. 
A man who was convinced that his mind 
and thoughts were totally inaccessible to a 
Divine influence would hardly prevail on him- 
self to address any supplication to God; he 
would feel himself beyond the reach of that 
power to which he must apply for aid, and 
would therefore think it vain to implore 
his protection in danger, or his comfort in 
affliction. 

The doctrine of spiritual agency is but 

* See Part II. Sect. 21. 
G 3 



86 

the doctrine of a providence carried into the 
regions of mind ; and whoever believes that 
a superintending power watches over ex- 
ternal nature, can hardly doubt that the 
same power extends its influence to the 
faculties of our souls. Indeed it may be 
questioned whether there could be any pro- 
vidence, if we were to exclude its influence 
from the intellectual world : for the assist- 
ance of providence seems generally to be 
rendered through the intervention of our 
minds ; so that if all spiritual communica- 
tions of this kind were destroyed, there 
could be little or no benefit derived to us 
from its exclusive operations on physical 
and external nature. 

The accounts of all nations, whether 
savage or civilised, coincide in these views ; 
for no nation has been destitute of some 
kind of worship addressed to the Supreme, 
and prayer is the dictate of nature, not less 
than the doctrine of grace. It is the invo- 
luntary language of a creature who feels his 
weakness, who confesses his wants, who is 
conscious that he is supported day after day 
by that power which originally made him., 

IO 



87 

and who feels impelled, by every sentiment 
of his mind, to betake himself to this power 
for refuge in his dangers and help in his 
difficulties. 

But if these feelings of universal nature 
had not been deducible from facts, it would 
have been easy to collect the opinions of the 
wisest moralists and philosophers of anti- 
quity, relative to the subject of spiritual 
assistance. Thus Cicero, in his book De 
Natura Deorum, having mentioned several 
of the most eminent individuals who had 
appeared in Greece and Rome, adds, that 
none of them would have obtained that 
height of virtue, " Nisi Deo juvante." He 
then adds, " Nemo vir magnus sine aliquo 
afflatu divino unquam fuit." And Seneca 
affirms repeatedly the same doctrine, " Bo- 
nus vir sine Deo nemo est." — " Nulla sine 
Deo mens bona est." Epist. 41. and 73. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 26'.] 



G 4 



88 



SECTION XXVII. 



On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would confirm the 
natural Sentiments of Mankind respecting 
the Immortality of the Soul ? * 

Since all the obligations of natural religion 
are founded on the belief of our existence 
in a state beyond the present, and since the 
native sentiments of mankind incline them 
to hope and expect such a state of future 
existence, it seems to be essential to any 
Revelation coming from God, that it should 
establish on clear and intelligible evidence 
the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, 
and the continuance of our personal identity 
hereafter. For however probable these doc- 
trines might appear to the eye of reason, 
and however necessary to complete the 
scheme of natural religion ; yet it is plain 
that mankind were always in great doubt 
and anxiety respecting them. The corrup- 

* See Part II. Sect. 23. 



89 

tion and dissolution of the body made them 
hesitate respecting the preservation of the 
soul after death ; and even of those who al- 
lowed its existence, yet many denied that 
it would be subject to rewards or punish- 
ments for the deeds done in that body from 
which they conceived it to be separated for 
ever. 

Supposing any Revelation, then, to be 
given by God to man, it would appear 
highly probable that some further inform- 
ation would be afforded us on these interest- 
ing subjects. There would be a reasonable 
prejudice, I think, against any such pro- 
fessing Revelation, if it had not contained 
some discoveries of this nature, whereas, 
on the contrary, if it should contain them, 
this prejudice ought not only to be removed, 
but a prepossession in favour of its truth 
should be substituted in its stead. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 270 



90 



SECTION XXVIII. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would be sanctioned 
by the Doctrine of Eternal Rewards and 
Punishments ? * 

Since in all laws, whether natural or civil, 
the hopes of reward and the apprehensions 
of punishment are the chief motives by 
which obedience is secured, it would appear 
highly probable, that if any revelation were 
to come to us in the form of a divine law, it 
would also be armed with similar means 
of enforcing its obligations. The whole of 
the providential government of nature be- 
ing carried on through these channels of 
reward and punishment, there would be 
a strong presumption, that in any re- 
vealed dispensation addressed to man, the 
same method of influencing our moral and 
intellectual faculties would also be pursued. 
But since a Revelation has an immediate 

* See Part II. Sect. 24 and 25. 



91 



and necessary connection with eternity, and 
since all its promises and threatenings must 
be fetched from a state of existence beyond 
the grave, (at least so far as it is a religious 
and not a civil dispensation,) it would ap- 
pear that these promises and threatenings 
must likewise partake of that unchangeable 
nature which reason and natural religion 
teach us to ascribe to a state of immor- 
tality. 

If then, with moralists of all ages, we are 
led to contemplate the present world as a 
scene of discipline and preparation for 
eternity, what can be more probable than 
that the character which we form below 
shall accompany us into this fixed and 'per- 
manent state of being hereafter, and that we 
shall be rewarded or punished in that un- 
changeable state, according to our lives and 
actions in this world of probationary trial ? 

And the apparent severity with which 
many vices are punished in the present life, 
so as to admit of no alleviation from sorrow 
and repentance, is, to say the least of it, a 
strong symptom of the possibility that there 
may be punishments which are final and 



92 



immutable in the world to come ; accord- 
ingly they have 9 for the most part, pro- 
duced this effect upon the general opinions 
of mankind, the great majority in all ages 
contemplating our state after death as a 
state of endless happiness or misery. 

Nor does it appear that any tolerable de- 
gree of obedience to the divine laws could 
have been otherwise secured, than by the 
influence of these eternal rewards and pu- 
nishments. The vast capacities of our minds 
are not to be satisfied with any thing short 
of this infinity of duration, neither our hopes 
nor our fears could have been governed by 
limited and transitory retributions. If, with 
this belief prevailing on our minds, we all 
know and feel how difficult it is to with- 
stand the temptations of vice, and to make 
the hopes of endless enjoyments eclipse the 
fascinations of momentary but immediate 
pleasures ; how could our passions have 
been daunted by penalties which were in- 
finitely less tremendous, or our virtues have 
been incited by rewards which were in- 
finitely less alluring ? 

Nor does it appear, by any thing which 



93 



passes in this world, that punishments, how- 
ever severe, always lead to the correction 
and amendment of the offender. There 
are habits of vice which seem to be incor- 
rigible by moral means, in which, suffering 
leads to rebellion rather than to repentance^ 
and where the only advantage to be de- 
rived from the sufferings of the guilty con- 
sists in the warning which they hold out for 
the instruction of others. 

Yet, though it seems probable that the 
doctrine of eternal rewards and punish- 
ments would be contained in a Divine 
Revelation, this can by no means imply;, 
that different individuals should not be 
punished or rewarded with very different 
degrees of happiness or misery. Without 
such distinctions, there could be no moral 
equity observed; there could be no cor- 
respondence hereafter to that inconceiv- 
able variety of characters and gradations 
which we know to exist in the present 
life. " That every man shall be rewarded 
according to his works," is the dictate of 
Reason, not less than the discovery of Re- 
velation ; but that the miserable shall never 



94 



become happy, nor the happy become mi- 
serable ; this seems essential to a state 
which is intended as a final and immut- 
able separation between the righteous and 
the wicked. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 28.] 



95 



SECTION XXIX. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, would 
it not in all Probability contain some Doc- 
trines above the Reach of our Natural 
Faculties ? * 

Whoever considers the imperfections of hu- 
man knowledge and the limited range of 
our powers of thought and conception, 
must be prepared to admit the probability, 
that in many respects we should very par- 
tially comprehend the doctrines and dis- 
coveries of a revealed religion. For our 
natural powers remaining in the same state 
as before this Revelation was announced, 
there would certainly exist a great disparity 
between our faculties of comprehension and 
many of those doctrines of which it might 
assure us. Hence they would necessarily be 
prepared rather as articles of faith than as 
the deductions of reason, as truths to be re- 
ceived on the authority of the proposer, 

* See Part II. Sect. 26. 



96 

rather than conclusions which might have 
been elicited by our own understandings. 

Considering the present state of the human 
mind, it may be questioned whether any re- 
ligion would have been adapted to our na- 
ture and external circumstances, which was 
not in some measure mysterious and incom- 
prehensible by reason. We are endowed with 
a strong faculty of awe and admiration and 
amazement, but these are sentiments which 
are connected with our imperfect attain- 
ments. The worship and adoration of man 
necessarily partake of those mixed and in- 
termediate principles which arise out of 
partial knowledge and imperfect apprehen- 
sion : we live and move in this dubious 
twilight even in what regards things tem- 
poral and material ; why, then, should we 
be surprised if the same intermixture of 
light and darkness should prevail over our 
spiritual treatment ? 

In our knowledge of things below, we 
see but a little way, and that little very in- 
distinctly ; all our philosophy convinces 
us of our ignorance ; it is but a record of 
facts, not the developement of first prin- 



97 

ciples. The unjust as well as the just must 
live by an exercise of their faith. Surely 
such a world would be ill suited to any re- 
ligion which did not partake of a similar 
combination of light and shade. There 
would not be any harmony or consistence 
between our knowledge of things natural 
and spiritual, if the latter were clearly de- 
veloped, whilst the former lay clouded in 
dimness and twilight. It is sufficient to 
render such a Revelation credible, if it 
should inform us plainly of our duties, 
whilst its doctrines are partially unfolded. 
Had the whole of its scheme been opened 
to our view, it is probable that either our 
faculties must have undergone some alter- 
ation, or that such discoveries would have 
rendered us unfit to remain in our present 
external situation. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No.. 29.] 



H 



98 



SECTION XXX. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, does 
it not seem probable that it would be at- 
tended with some external and positive 
Institutions ? * 

As mankind are at present constituted, it 
does not seem possible that any Religion 
could be upheld amongst them which was 
not embodied, in some degree, with ap- 
pointments of a positive description. A 
merely spiritual worship is plainly not 
adapted to creatures of our rank and situ- 
ation ; it is far too sublime to meet the ex- 
igencies of human nature. 

It may be doubted, indeed, whether we 
could form a proper conception of the na- 
ture of any Revelation which had not some 
positive institution appointed by its founder. 
Without such appointment, its nature would 
be too general and abstract, perhaps, to 
come up to our notion of a Revealed Reli- 

* See Part II. Sect. 27- 



99 

gion. At any rate, there would be the 
greatest reason to apprehend that the me- 
mory of this Revelation would gradually 
pass away ; for positive institutions, or- 
dained by the founder of a religion, are, of 
all methods, the plainest and most forcible 
to uphold its memory and preservation. 

There is another advantage connected 
with such positive appointments, which has 
an immediate relation to a Revealed Re- 
ligion. They seem to rest more immedi- 
ately .on the authority of the founder than 
those duties which carry with them an ab- 
stract and inherent obligation. But this 
authority it is of the liighest consequence 
to enforce, because it is connected with our 
obedience to all the other precepts of Reli- 
gion, and is in itself a moral and religious 
duty. 

To this it may be added, that positive in- 
stitutions, which depend on the authority of 
the founder of a religion, have a great ten- 
dency to prevent an unnecessary multiplica- 
tion of useless rites and ceremonies, since the 
same authority can never be pleaded in the 
behalf of subsequent additions. Since the 
h 2 



Uf6 



100 

nature of man requires some of these ex- 
ternal appointments, it seems far more pru- 
dent that they should emanate from the 
authority of the founder, than be left to 
the casual invention of others. To keep 
up any thing like unity and connection 
amongst the followers of the same religion, 
it seems necessary that its author should 
have appointed some symbols of external 
worship, in which all his disciples should 
agree. 

In support of this reasoning, we may 
appeal to every form of religion which has 
been prevalent amongst mankind. The 
rites and festivals of Paganism were founded 
on these common principles of our* nature; 
and the institutions of Numa, Lycurgus, 
and Mahomet, not less than those of the 
Jewish legislator, may assure us that no 
religion can be maintained amongst any 
people, which is not supported with some 
ceremonial appointments. ; 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 30.] 



101 



SECTION XXXI. 

Is it not equally unphilosophical in Revealed 
as in Natural Theology, to argue upon 
Suppositions instead of enquiring into 
Facts?* 

The history of human knowledge has led 
all sober-minded men to the conviction, 
that whatever progress may be made in 
science and civilisation, by diligently en- 
quiring into the works of nature ; yet that it 
is hopeless to look for any safe or valuable 
information from speculating how the world 
might have been differently constituted. 
In all physical enquiries, we are obliged to 
take facts as they are now set before us ; in 
our metaphysical reasonings, we examine 
into the actual state of our minds; whilst 
in our moral system, we contemplate man 
as he actually exists in civil society. Hence* 

* See Part II. Sect. 28.. 
H 3 



102 



as Bacon expresses it, " Man, who is the 
servant and interpreter of nature, can act 
and understand no farther than he has 
either in operation or in contemplation 
observed the method and order of na- 
ture." 

The same method of practical investi- 
gation is also requisite in our researches 
into Revealed Theology. We are not more 
at liberty to substitute conjectures for facts 
in this th^n in any other department of 
human knowledge. It is our duty to judge 
of its credibility both from its internal and 
its external evidences. In the first, we 
compare it with the moral principles of our 
minds, and then we deduce its probable 
truth from its connection with our reason 
and happiness. In the second, we examine 
into its historical testimonies, and then we 
decide upon its authenticity from the num- 
ber, the worth, and the agreement of its 
witnesses. This is a sober and practical 
investigation, suited to our faculties and 
corresponding to the methods of inductive 
science. But it cannot be philosophical to 
argue from some real or supposed diffi- 

J3 



103 

culties, as if the whole Revelation were 
altogether false, should the general evi- 
dence preponderate in its favour. If such 
objections were allowed to prevail upon 
other subjects, they would lead to unli- 
mited scepticism, and to the destruction 
of the whole fabric of human knowledge. 

The only just and legitimate subjects of 
enquiry are the facts and evidences of Re- 
velation as they relate to the human mind 
or to the testimonies of history. If we 
have sufficient proof of its probability, — 
nay, of being barely possible, it is then our 
duty to examine into its claims as a matter 
of fact But when its truth, in this respect, 
has been once admitted, then we are no 
longer at liberty to treat it as a matter of 
theory and conjecture, or to speculate how 
it might have been otherwise constituted. 
The doctrines of Revelation will then 
stand upon equal authority with the facts 
of nature, or with the plainest dictates 
of Natural Religion ; and we are no more 
at liberty to question the truth of any doc- 
trine which is recorded in this acknow- 
h 4 



104 

ledged Revelation, than to doubt of the 
moral justice of God, or to question his 
right to command our unlimited obe- 
dience. 

As the believer in Natural TheoxOgy 
should confine his observations to an inter- 
pretation of the works of nature, without 
presuming to correct the established laws of 
Providence ; so the believer in Revealed 
Theology is called upon to yield a similar 
submission to what he acknowledges to be 
the same authority. In his situation, the 
office of reason is confined to the selection 
of a pure text, and to the discovery of the 
most just and natural interpretation. To 
call in theory and conjecture, would be to 
deny the authority of the Revelation itself; 
it would be to act the part of Alphonsus, 
who, though a Theist, pretended that he 
could improve the constitution of the world* 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 31.] 



105 



SECTION XXXIL 

Are not the Evidences both of Natural and 
Revealed Theology ultimately dependent 
on our Belief in the Divine Veracity ? * 

Although there be a real and important 
distinction between the evidence of those 
things which depend on faith and reason. 
(See Locke, bookiv. ch. 18.) yet it would 
appear as if both of them were finally re- 
solvable into our confidence on the Divine 
justice and rectitude. 

When we believe any thing as reported 
to us by the testimony of our own senses, 
we take for granted that these senses are 
constituted according to truth and equity, 
and that they are calculated to convey real 
knowledge, and not given us for the pur- 
poses of deception. If we did not take 
this for granted, we should remain sceptical 
even in matters of strict demonstration. 

When we believe any thing as reported 
to us by others, we receive it because it is 

*. See Part II. Sect. 29. 



106 

a fundamental principle of human nature 
to believe a credible fact when delivered to 
us on sufficient testimony. In either case 
it is possible that we may have been de- 
ceived. Our senses may have been mis- 
taken, or our witnesses may have been 
deceived, or may be willing to deceive us. 
But since human life could not be carried 
on without this confidence on our own 
faculties, and on those of others, and since 
we know that in a vast majority of instances, 
truth is told rather than falsehood, we are 
irresistibly impelled by the principles of 
our nature, to rely upon both these kinds 
of evidence. 

66 Every kind of reasoning," says Dr. 
Reid, " for the veracity of our faculties 
amounts to no more than taking their own 
testimony for this veracity, and this we 
must do implicitly, until God gives us some 
new faculties to sit in judgment upon the 
old. If any truth can be said to be prior 
to all others in the order of nature, this 
seems to have the best claim ; because in 
every instance of assent, whether upon in- 
tuitive, demonstrative, or probable evidence^ 



107 

the truth of our faculties is taken for granted, 
and is, as it were, one of the premises on 
which our assent is grounded." 

Hence, the foundation of all our know- 
ledge consists in our confidence on the Divine 
veracity, and our belief that things are con- 
stituted with a relation to truth, and that 
our own faculties and those of other men 
are formed with a regard to what is just and 
equitable. In this respect the evidence 
of testimony, of reason, and of sense, are 
established on one and the same basis. 
The grounds of Natural and Revealed Theo- 
logy are equally dependent on our faith in 
the Divine Rectitude, and on our convic- 
tion, that we are made capable of attaining 
truth, whether it be conveyed to us through 
our own senses, or through that reliance 
upon testimony which we are naturally dis- 
posed to place on the well authenticated 
relations of others. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 32.,] 
* Reid's Essays, Vol. ii. eh. 5. 



108 



SECTION XXXIII. 



Is not a Revelation delivered in an Historical 

• Form, and sanctioned with the Form of a 

Divine Law, necessarily more clear and 

intelligible, than a Religion arising out of 

the Deductions of Abstract Reasoning f * 

It is the confession of Lord Bolingbroke f , 
" that nothing seems in speculation so 
proper to enforce moral obligation, as a 
true Revelation, or a Revelation believed 
to be true." This, propriety arises out of 
the superior clearness and precision which 
must necessarily belong to a Religion deli- 
vered as matter of fact and of history, over 
all the uncertainties of abstract reasoning. 
»■! Supposing then that a Revelation of this 
kind should contain no new or original dis- 
coveries ; yet upon the bare ground of the 
authority and the clearness with which it 
would ascertain and republish these doc- 
trines and duties which were before but im- 

* See Part II. Sect. 30. 

f See his Works, vol. v. p. 268. 



109 

perfectly apprehended, it would prove of the 
greatest benefit and advantage to mankind. 

It seems highly probable that such a 
Revelation would be announced to us under 
the form of a Divine law, emanating imme- 
diately from the Supreme legislator; and 
enforced by the terrors of Eternal punish- 
ments, and by the hopes of eternal rewards. 
For since God is our moral governor, it 
would appear likely that He should adopt 
a course at once so suited to his own cha- 
racter and to our conditions, especially 
when we remember that this procedure 
would bear a close analogy to the adminis- 
tration , of civil society, which is also in some 
degree of Divine appointment. The writ- 
ten laws of nations are for the most part 
composed of those portions of Natural Re- 
ligion which concern the welfare of civil 
life, being transplanted out of abstract 
precepts into laws, and armed with that 
civil influence and authority which may 
insure the obedience of a whole commu- 
nity. 

But since there would be such a clear 
and decided superiority in a Revelation of 



110 

this description, it deserves the consider- 
ation of every reflecting Deist, whether there 
may not on this account arise some indirect 
probability in favour of such a Revelation, 
Does it appear consistentwithour sentiments 
of the Divine Wisdom, that the method 
which of all others is the most congenial to 
our minds and understandings should have 
been totally overlooked ? At any rate, if a 
Religion professing to be a Divine Revela- 
tion should exist in the world, and should 
approach us in the very form which we have 
here contemplated, is he not bound by 
reason and good sense, and by all the 
obligations of Natural Religion, to examine 
into its evidences ? 

Query. Would it not greatly add to the 
force and authority of any Revelation, if it 
had been first addressed to a particular peo- 
ple ; and if its beneficial effects had been 
exemplified in their civil and national re- 
cords ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 38.] 



in 



SECTION XXXIV. 



On the Supposition of any Revelation, would 
it not probably be intended for the Benefit 
of the whole Human Race ? * 

If we admit that the Creator of the World, 
from some extraordinary circumstances re- 
lative to our species, should interfere to 
save and rescue his offspring, it certainly 
appears most consonant to our reason, and 
to Our conceptions of the Divine attributes, 
that He should interfere for the sake of all, 
rather than for the exclusive advantage of 
a few. Though it would, perhaps, be too 
much to affirm that this is essential to our 
notions of God's justice, (for the whole being 
matter of grace and favour, it could hardly 
be brought under the consideration of strict 
right,) yet it must be allowed that we could 
scarcely reconcile such extreme partiality 
to our sentiments of infinite wisdom and 
unlimited goodness. 

* See Part II. Sect. 32. 



112 

There is a grandeur in the attempt also, 
as relative to the whole world rather than 
to a limited number of individuals, which 
would and which ought to prepossess us 
in favour of the more comprehensive 
scheme of mercy. Nor upon looking 
abroad on the creation, should we feel dis- 
posed to think that any were devoted to 
certain and inevitable destruction. For 
though it be true that some are placed in 
more favourable situations, both for virtue 
and for happiness, than others ; yet it would 
be impossible to show that any individuals 
are entirely cut off from all means of self- 
improvement, and from all capability of tem- 
poral happiness. The blessings of creation 
and preservation extend universally to all 
mankind ; and though dealt out in various 
degrees, yet there is a principle of com- 
pensation discoverable in nature which goes 
far to equalize our sufferings and enjoy- 
ments. Thus, even savage life has some 
pleasures and advantages which are pecu- 
liar to itself ; so has a life of poverty and 
labour, compared with one of ease and 
affluence. The acutest pain is generally 



113 

accompanied with some intermissions of 
pleasurable ease, and there is compassion 
discoverable even in the circumstances of 
our death. * 

These, with many observations of the like 
nature, might lead us to expect that if any 
Revelation were afforded, it would be afford- 
ed for the benefit of all, rather than of a 
few. And though we should not, I think, be 
justified in rejecting a Revelation because 
it did not correspond with such hopes and 
views, yet it would be a considerable pre- 
sumption against it, so that some strong 
counteracting evidence would be requisite 
to overcome our prejudices arising from 
such disappointment of our natural expect- 
ations. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 34.] 
* See Pater's Natural Theology, ch. 26. p. 496—502. 



114 



SECTION XXXV. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
probable that it would meet with universal 
Success ? * 

Though it would undoubtedly be a con- 
siderable presumption against the truth of 
any Revelation, if it had universally or even 
generally failed of procuring the assent of 
those to whom it was addressed, yet ther* 
is no ground at all for supposing that it 
would in all cases silence the cavils and ob- 
jections of those who from some unhappy 
prejudice (from whatever cause it might 
arise) were disinclined to admit of its truth. 
Upon the contrary, such universal success 
would show that its evidences were irre- 
sistible, and would therefore leave no ex- 
ercise for the moral powers ; a kind of 
treatment which is altogether foreign to our 
experience of God's providential dealings 
with mankind. 

* See Part II. Sect. 33. 



115 

It may be doubted, indeed, whether any 
degree of moral or historical evidence will, 
in all cases, avail to overcome the deeply- 
rooted prejudices of those who are averse 
to the belief of any moral or religious doc- 
trine. The mind is sometimes impene- 
trable to the strongest arguments, so that 
nothing short of a total destruction of 
liberty of thought and will could avail to 
produce conviction. 

What might be naturally expected, as to 
the success of any Revelation, would be 
this, — that it should gain the assent of the 
great majority of mankind, both of the 
learned and of the unlearned ; that it should 
prosper in proportion to the advancement 
of sound and useful knowledge, and to the 
progressive stages of civilization ; that fresh 
evidences should incidentally arise in its 
favour from the political circumstances of 
mankind ; and that the oppositions which 
were made to it should not only fail to 
overturn, but should ultimately conduce to 
its advantage and promotion. 

Any Revelation, possessing such a degree 
of general success, might fairly appeal to 

i 2 



116 

its history as a presumptive argument in its 
favour, though it had failed in particular in- 
stances of convincing some individuals of 
great talents, and even a few, perhaps, of 
acknowledged virtues. 

In this want of universal success, it 
would correspond only with the fortunes 
of Natural Theology. There have been 
some who have denied the existence of 
God, others who have questioned his 
Providence, and multitudes who, acknow- 
ledging both, have lived, as if they prac- 
tically believed in neither. If a Revelation, 
then should experience similar treatment, 
it .could not be seriously urged as any 
argument against its credibility; for in 
reality it would but exemplify its alliance 
with the course of nature. 

XSee Notes and Illustrations, No. 35.] 



117 



SECTION XXXVI. 



On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that both its Doctrines and 
Evidences would afford Scope for the Ex- 
ercise of Moral Candour ? * 

It has been sometimes rashly asserted, that 
supposing any Revelation to be given by 
God to man, its evidences would be so clear 
and perspicuous as to admit of no doubts 
or differences of opinion. But to this it 
may be replied, that morality does not ad- 
mit of demonstration, strictly so called, 
which is altogether peculiar to mathema- 
tical propositions. Or if it be meant that 
every truth which it contains should be laid 
before the mind with the utmost clearness 
and precision, then it should be remem- 
bered, that by such procedure one great 
object of moral truth would be entirely de- 
stroyed, viz. the exercise which it affords 
for candour in judging of its force. 

* See Part II. Sect. 33. 
I 3 



118 

It is well observed by Bishop Butler, that 
these speculative difficulties in religion are 
parallel to the allurements and temptations 
of ordinary life, and that to some minds 
they afford a principal part of their trial 
and probation. Indeed it would go far to 
defeat the ends of a religious dispensation, 
if no freedom were left to the mind in 
judging of its arguments. It is plain also, 
that such a religion would be at total va- 
riance with the proofs and evidences of 
Natural Theology, which are so far from 
being demonstrative and clear to every 
careless beholder, that they require both 
honesty and consideration to bring us to 
yield our assent to their authority. For if 
any man, through sophistry or an unrea- 
sonable demand for evidence clear of every 
difficulty, should withhold his belief of 
things relating to the present life ; he may 
soon find arguments to render him equally 
sceptical in natural and in Revealed Re- 
ligion, 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 36.] 



119 



SECTION XXXVIL 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would be particularly 
adapted to the Poor ? * 

Since God is the common Father of man- 
kind, who loves all his children with equal 
affection, it appears highly probable that if 
he made any extraordinary Revelation of 
his will, this Revelation, as far as it was 
made known, would prove universally be- 
neficial to all classes of society, but more 
particularly that it would benefit those who 
require it most, who constitute the bulk of 
mankind, and who had been neglected and 
forgotten in the attempts of human reason. 
Whatever effect the institutions of ancient 
philosophy might possess on their imme- 
diate adherents, it is plain they were far too 
narrow and confined to produce any ad- 
vantage to the great bulk of the commu- 
nity. There was still some medium 

* See Part. II. Sect. 34. 
i 4 



120 

wanted for plain and popular instruction 
in moral and religious truth, which might 
apply to the circumstances of all people, 
without regard to their stations in society, 
or to their advancement in elegant or scien- 
tific attainments. If any thing coming to 
us in the form of a Divine Revelation, had 
not contained this valuable desideratum, I 
think that it might have been fairly viewed 
as no slight presumption against its claims ; 
whereas, on the contrary, if it furnished us 
with this medium of popular instruction, 
it ought to be regarded as a probable argu- 
ment of its truth. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 370 



121 



SECTION XXXVIII. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, does 
it not seem probable that it would acquire 
the Assent of the Majority of the Learned? * 

The writings of the ancient philosophers 
may be arranged generally under two, divi- 
sions. They are either serious or comic; 
they are intended as grave investigations of 
truth, or as ludicrous exhibitions of error. 

When we look into the former, we find 
numberless confessions of that ignorance 
and uncertainty which they felt in all their 
Religious speculations. The utmost to 
which the wisest of them aspired, was pro- 
bability ; and this probability was brought 
almost down to scepticism by the endless 
disputes and divisions amongst themselves. 
When we consult the latter, we find a 
total unbelief of the existing opinions, with- 
out any attempt to substitute others. They 
both agree in this point, that the philoso- 
phic sentiments were at variance with the 

* See Part II. Sect. 35. 



122 

vulgar creed. Thus, as Mr. Gibbon expresses 
it, " The various forms of worship which 
prevailed in the Heathen world, were all 
considered by the people as equally true, 
by the philosophers as equally false, and by 
the legislators as equally useful." 

Let any reflecting Theist consider whe- 
ther this was not an unnatural state of 
things, and whether if any Revelation were 
to come from God to man, it would not in 
all probability rectify this strange oppo- 
sition between the ignorant and the learned. 
Then let him consider whether it would 
not operate against his belief of such a Re- 
velation, if this opposition had still con- 
tinued; and whether it ought not to operate 
in its favour ', if it should be found to have 
harmonized the sentiments of the majority 
of the learned, with those of the populace ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 38.] 



123 



SECTION XXXIX. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would be gradual and 
progressive, rather than sudden and in- 
stantaneous? * 

According to the general principle which 
has been laid down in this work respecting 
the probable agreement between a Re- 
velation and the course of Nature, it seems 
natural to expect that such Revelation should 
have been gradual and progressive, growing 
up with the age of the world, and with the 
advancement of knowledge and civilization? 
rather than suddenly flashed upon mankind 
at their first creation, in all its splendor and 
magnificence. 

Since it is plainly the intention of Pro- 
vidence that mankind should be placed in 
very different degrees of moral respon- 
sibility, it would certainly interfere with 
this principle of variety, if they had all 
enjoyed precisely the same degrees of reli- 

* See Part II. Sect. 36. 



124 

gious light and information. But to speak 
freely, this uniformity would be unattain- 
able under the present constitution of Na- 
ture; for supposing the knowledge of this 
Revelation to have been universale yet still 
the different talents, situations, &c. of indi- 
viduals would have almost equally varied 
their circumstances and opportunities of 
moral improvement. 

Since the most valuable discoveries are 
many of them of recent invention, since the 
knowledge, laws, and civilization of man- 
kind have grown up in slow and impercep- 
tible increase, it cannot be deemed as any 
anomaly if the Divine government should 
have been carried on in a similar manner. 
It may be doubted indeed, whether without 
an absolute change in the whole course of 
Providence, any Revelation could have been 
equally addressed to all mankind. How, for 
example, are savages and barbarians capable 
of estimating the force of moral evidence ? 
But if the existence of such savage and 
barbarous nations be objected to, it is an 
objection, not against a supposed Revelation 

but against the actual state of nature. It 

ii 



125 



might have been foreseen, therefore, that 
unless the whole of this Revelation were 
to have been attended with a series of un- 
interrupted miracles, it must have been 
addressed with very different degrees of 
light and evidence, to the different ages of 
the world; and that while some nations 
would have made a considerable progress 
in its knowledge, others would possess it 
with far inferior advantages, whilst some, 
from their total want of civilization, would 
be altogether excluded from its temporal 
benefits. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 39.] 



126 



SECTION XL. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, would 
not its permanent Continuance become one of 
the leading Evidences of its Truth ? * 

It is one of the constant characteristics of 
craft and error, that its reign is short and 
transient, whilst truth, grows stronger by 
continuance, and gathers stability from age. 

The false religions and idolatries of man- 
kind have ever been inconstant and mu- 
table, changing with the manners and 
customs of nations ; but if any Revelation 
were to be given by God, it is probable that 
it would be distinguished from these by its 
stability and continuance. It would not be 
a mere presumption, but a full proof of the 
falsity of such a professed Revelation, if it 
underwent the same changes which are 
always attendant on merely human opi- 
nions. 

* See Part II. Sect. 37. 



127 



Supposing, then, that a religion existed 
in the world, professing to be a Divine Re- 
velation, which exhibited strong marks of 
this stability and continuance ; supposing 
that it had survived the revolutions of many 
empires, and outlived the change of opi- 
nions, that it had flourished in nations of 
widely diversified manners, that it still 
evinced no symptoms of feebleness and de- 
cay, but seemed vigorous and progressive, 
and elastic in its spirit, I ask whether such 
singular and uncommon manifestations are 
not to be reputed as some presumptive 
arguments in its favour? Unless all cir- 
cumstantial evidence is to be decried as 
nugatory, something must be allowed to 
circumstances of this description. The 
human mind is so constituted that it can- 
not overlook such particulars without doing 
violence to its own convictions. The mere 
existence of a religion, which has continued 
unchanged for nearly two thousand years ; 
which professes to be connected with ano- 
ther religion, the most ancient in the world, 
and which has spread knowledge and civi- 
lization over a considerable part of the 



128 



globe ; the mere existence of such a reli- 
gion at the present day, is a sufficient 
reason to enquire into the truth of its pre- 
tensions. 

These considerations are closely con- 
nected with the belief of a superintending 
Providence. If we could adopt the conclu- 
sion, that such Religion was no more de- 
serving of our examination than another 
which had been transient and mutable, and 
which had passed away with the fashion of 
the world, then, I apprehend, that however 
we might profess to believe in the doctrines 
of Natural Theology, yet that we should in 
our hearts be at no great distance from the 
creed of Epicurus. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 40.] 



129 



SECTION XLI. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, is it 
not probable that it would become the chief 
Medium of diffusing Knowledge, Happi- 
ness, and Civilization among Mankind ? * 

This probability arises out of the connection 
which it is presumed would subsist between 
Natural and Revealed Theology, so that 
the knowledge, practice, and natural conse- 
quences of the former would arise out of the 
progress, advancement, and prosperity of 
the latter. If those countries which had 
enjoyed the Revelation, were not distin- 
guished from others by their superior know- 
ledge, civilization, and progress in civil 
and social happiness, then I think both the 
importance and utility of this Revelation, 
as connected with the present life, might 
be reasonably questioned. But if it wanted 
this kind of evidence, it would want a very 
material part of those arguments which 
might recommend it to the notice of sober 

* See Part II, Sect. 38. 
K 



180 

and reflecting men. Indeed upon this sup- 
position, the whole train of reasoning which 
we have employed, would be destroyed and 
broken. 

This probability also arises from the 
belief that the author of this Revelation, 
being the author of nature, would extend 
the temporal happiness and comforts of 
his creatures, by the same method in which 
He promoted their spiritual and religious 
welfare ; and that thus his providential care 
and goodness would be blended with the 
love and mercy which he would display in 
this peculiar dispensation. Nor is this pro- 
bability dependent on merely abstract spe- 
culation ; it is warranted by our experience 
of his providential government in nature, 
Amidst many inequalities, the course of 
Providence is plainly of a moral tendency. 
Virtue is naturally rewarded with social hap- 
piness ; it tends spontaneously to secure the 
blessings of good order and civilisation* 
But if such be the effects of that imperfect 
virtue which arises from an attention to the 
duties of natural religion, the same good 
consequences, to a far higher extent, might 
i% 



131 

he naturally looked for from the superior 
advantages of a revealed dispensation. 

Should there be any Religion then in 
this world professing to be a Divine Reve- 
lation, it would be a just presumption 
against the credibility of its claims, if it 
had not promoted the knowledge, hap- 
piness, and social prosperity of those 
nations which had embraced its belief. Rut 
upon the contrary, if it had effected these 
important purposes, then an equal degree 
of presumption ought to arise in Its favour. 
This fact would become an evidence of its 
connection with Providence, and with the 
principles of human happiness, and would 
correspond with those natural anticipations 
which we are inclined to form respecting 
any Revelation of God to his intelligent 
creatures. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 41.] 



K 2 



132 



SECTION XLIL 

On the Supposition of any Revelation, would 
it not be embraced by Men of the greatest 
Probity and Virtue ? * 

Though, as we have remarked, it could not 
be expected that a Revelation should be 
successful in producing conviction in all 
instances, yet it would be a great presump- 
tion against its truth, if those who should 
refuse it their assent, were for the most 
part men of distinguished probity and moral 
excellence. It would be subversive of all 
our notions of equity, to believe that the 
evidences of any Religion coming from 
God should not be sufficient to satisfy the 
generality of those who sincerely lived up 
to the duties of Natural Theology. 

The kind of persons who might be ex- 
pected to be found amongst its adversaries,, 
would be, first, those who unduly exalted 
the powers and capacities of the mind, and. 

* See Part II. Sect. 39. 



133 

whose pride would not allow them to stoop 
to the humility of penitents; secondly, 
those who substituted ridicule for calm in*- 
vestigation ; and thirdly, those of profligate 
and licentious principles and conduct. Now 
the opposition of persons of this description, 
especially those of the latter class, so far 
from forming any argument against the 
truth of a Revelation, ought to be esteemed 
as a considerable presumption in its favour ; 
because they would constitute a powerful 
contrast to those who conscientiously be- 
lieved in its doctrines, and lived up to its 
precepts. 

The whole argument, thereforej would 
turn upon a question of fact ; viz. upon the 
moral character and conduct of those who 
were the chief opponents to such a Reve- 
lation. If these were generally men of 
distinguished worth, probity, and moral 
excellence, then I think the presumption 
would lie against its credibility. But if, on 
the other hand, they were generally defi- 
cient in these respects, then their oppo- 
sition, so far from being any argument 
against its probability, should incline us to 
k 3. 



134 

think more favourably of that Religion 
which had enabled its followers to excel 
them in these points of moral obligation. 

In forming this decision, we should be 
supported by the best principles of our na- 
ture, which strongly dispose us to think 
favourably of any opinions which have been 
adopted by the majority of the wise and 
the good. It is possible that such men may 
have been deceived, but the probability is 
altogether on their side ; and it is this pro- 
bability which lays us under an obligation ta 
examine into the grounds of their belief 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 42.] 



135 



SECTION XLIII. 

On the Supposition of there being any real 
Revelation, would it not, in all Probability, 
be easily distinguishable from all others 
which were false and spurious? * 

It appears extremely probable that if there 
existed any genuine Revelation of God to 
Man, there would also be several false and 
spurious Revelations, springing from hu- 
man craft and ingenuity. But supposing 
this to be the case, there would be every 
reason to expect such a plain and manifest 
superiority on the part of the former, that 
no kind of rational comparison or resem- 
blance could be found between them. It 
is not conceivable that the artifices and fic- 
tions of mortals should be able to bear any 
competition with the exertions of infinite 
power and wisdom. 

What might be expected, under such 
circumstances, would be this; 1st, That 
whereas the true Revelation should appeal 

* See Part II. Sect. 40. 
K 4 



136 

to plain and public miracles, these false Re- 
velations would either appeal to no miracles 
at all, or to such as were not supported by 
sufficient evidence; 2dly, That the false 
Revelations should be mere imitations of the 
true, being subsequent in point of time; 
3dly, That whereas the true Revelation 
should flourish amongst the most free and 
enlightened nations^ the others should be con- 
fined to the barbarous and ignorant; 4thly, 
That whereas the true Revelation should 
possess a faultless code of morals, the others 
should blend human frailties and passions 
with the precepts and doctrines which they 
inculcated. 

Now supposing these representations to 
be fairly realized, it does not appear that 
the existence of such false Revelations 
should be allowed to prejudice the mind 
against an enquiry into any particular Re- 
velation which possessed such a manifest 
and decided superiority over others. Upon 
the contrary, this plain superiority ought to 
be regarded as a presumptive evidence 
in its favour, because it would naturally 
incline us to believe that some power and 



137 

wisdom, more than human, had enabled it 
to escape those faults and errors which are 
universally incident to the works of men. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 43.] 



138 



SECTION XLIV. 

On the Supposition of any Revelation? is if 
not probable that it would be calculated? 
in its general Principles? to exalt the 
Mercy of God? and to humble the Pride 
of Man ? * 

A Revelation being in itself an extraor- 
dinary act of mercy? intended for the be- 
nefit of those who could not attain hap- 
piness by means of their own natural 
exertions, there would arise a strong pro- 
bability that the general tenor of its doc- 
trines would be calculated to impress us 
with a sense of our own weakness and in- 
firmities? and to magnify the Divine good- 
ness which had thus been offered to our 
relief. 

A Revelation which had not impressed 
us with such convictions, would not be 
suited to the present nature and circum- 
stances of mankind. It would have filled 

* See Part II. Sect. 41. 



139 

us with that arrogance and self-conceit 
which would be altogether destructive of 
natural piety. Nor could it then have been 
adapted to the situation of mankind, as 
penitent sinners, who may hope for the 
mercy of God, but who have forfeited their 
claims upon his justice. 

From views like these, it might have 
been naturally anticipated, that if any Re- 
velation were given by God to man, it 
would have been given as an act of mere 
grace and favour ; and that in all its doc- 
trines it would, bear a manifest reference to 
our frail and guilty situation. So far, then, 
from being prejudiced against any religion* 
aspiring to the character of a Revelation* 
because it contained doctrines of this de- 
scription, we ought to consider it as an 
indirect evidence in its favour, because no 
religion could have come from God, or 
have been suited to the wants of man, which 
had not treated us as helpless and sinful 
creatures. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 44.] 



140 



SECTION XLV« 



On the Supposition of any Revelation*, would- 
it not probably advance greatly the Cause 
of Natural Religion ? * 

The obligations of morality being im- 
mutable and eternal, there would be every 
reason to expect not only that a Revelation 
should not contradict any precept of na- 
tural religion, but that it should become the 
great medium of bringing mankind into 
the knowledge and practice of their moral 
duties. Even in its peculiar doctrines, we 
might naturally look for fresh motives to 
enforce our sentiments of moral obligation. 
It seems probable, I think, that much of 
its evidence, especially in the later ages of 
the world, would arise from an argument 
of this kind, which might show that the in- 
terests of Natural and Revealed Theology 
were indissolubly united If it became the 

* See Part II. Sect. 42, 



141 



ordinary channel by which the most emi- 
nent nations were brought to an acquaint- 
ance with the duties of natural religion? 
there would undoubtedly exist a strong pre- 
sumptive 'argument in its favour ; whereas^ 
if it had produced but little effect of this- 
kind, this evidence would be entirely want- 
ing ; and a reasonable degree of prejudice 
would be awakened against its importance 
and utility, as connected with the present 
world. 

If then the nations who enjoyed this Re- 
velation were not distinguished from others? 
by a greater attention to the duties of prac- 
tical morality, if they appeared to differ 
from them chiefly in their religious be- 
lief, but not in their outward and visible 
actions and behaviour, then it might be rea- 
sonably surmised that it was nothing more 
than one of the multiplied forms of super- 
stition. But if, on the contrary, it had 
become the great instrument by which 
the duties of natural religion were upheld. 
if those countries in which it was best 
understood were pre-eminent for order 
and virtue, and social security, then all 



142 

reasonable men would be under an obli- 
gation to enquire into the claims of a reli- 
gion, which had been the chief medium of 
propagating those sentiments on which the 
virtues and moral dignity of our species 
must depend. 

The force of this argument cannot be 
questioned by those who place a high and 
exclusive value upon the doctrines of Na- 
tural Theology. Upon the supposition of 
any Revelation, it must, according to their 
opinions, have been chiefly a republication 
of Natural Religion. If so, they might rea- 
sonably look for the purest profession of 
the doctrines of Natural Theology amongst 
those who had been favoured with such ex- 
traordinary assistance ; and should there be 
any nations who were remarkably distin- 
guished by their superiority in this respect, 
this fact would deserve their particular at- 
tention, from its close congeniality with their 
opinions. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 45.] 



SECTION XLVI. 

Upon the Supposition of any Revelation, is 
it not probable that it would be the final 
Cause of Nature ? * 

A moral and religious dispensation, pub- 
lished immediately by Divine authority, is 
the most sublime and august conception 
which can be possibly entertained. Com- 
pared to such a dispensation,, every thing 
beside would become secondary and sub- 
servient. It would constitute the purpose 
and moral of creation. It would be the 
mind and council of the Deity operating 
through such an interference. 

What then are the marks which might 
be reasonably looked for in such a universal 
and transcendant dispensation ? First, it 
should begin with the creation, and should 
be intended to exist to the end of the 
world. Secondly, It should be published 

* See Part II. Sect. 9, 



144 



In the name and by the authority of the 
Maker of heaven and earth. Thirdly, It 
should be connected with the most import- 
ant interests of the whole human race. 
Fourthly, It should be calculated to give 
the highest glory to God, and to diffuse 
everlasting happiness amongst intelligent 
beings. Such appear to be the leading fea- 
tures of a Revelation, which might rank as 
the final cause of the material world ; and 
if there should exist any religion which 
seemed to bear these features, I think that 
it would, on this account alone, deserve the 
attention and examination of all serious and 
reflecting men. 

From the marks of wisdom and design 
which appear in the creation, we are na- 
turally led to conclude that there must be 
some great moral system carrying on in 
nature. The grandeur of mere machinery 
does not seem adequate to the infinity of 
the Governor of the Universe. But by the 
confessions of the wisest philosophers, we 
shall look in vain for this moral system in 
any of the ordinary occurrences of our 
world. What hypothesis then can be so 



145 



Natural as that this moral system may be 
contained in a Revelation published imme- 
diately by the author of nature? 

£See Notes and Illustrations, No. 46.] 



146 



Recapitulation of the Evidence. 

Though from the number and variety of 
the presumptive proofs which have been 
here collected, it would be impossible to 
present the reader with any synoptical view 
of the argument without going through the 
whole series, yet it may be useful to offer a 
few remarks upon the manner of estimating 
the force and consistency of that species of 
evidence which has been now adduced. 

First, then, it may be considered as a 
pile of separate and independent presump- 
tions, all tending towards one conclusion. 
Allowing each presumption to be no more 
than a pepper-corn, yet when thrown to- 
gether, they make something like a heap. 
It is the number and minuteness of these 
particles, all so adapted to each other, 
which make up the Mosaic of the argu- 
ment. 

And here it should be remembered, that 
though presumptive evidences of this kind 
do not admit of being accurately weighed 



147 

and balanced, yet that they proceed much 
after the same ratio of increase as the doc- 
trine of chances. When a great number 
of probabilities concentrate \ipon a single 
point, they are not merely to be added to 
each other, but to be multiplied. Their 
aggregate effect will be far greater than 
if their individual forces were separately 
considered. 

But, secondly, what is of still more im- 
portance to remember, is the continual re- 
iteration of proof which occurs in this kind 
of evidence ; and which, thus, not only aug- 
ments the amount of the sum total, but 
which adds to the force of each particular 
presumption. To illustrate this reasoning, 
I would beg leave to adduce the following 
examples. 

Thus the question is started in Sect. 2., 
Whether a Divine Revelation be not desir- 
able ? and from the apparently abstract de- 
sirableness of a Revelation, we deduce some 
distant presumption of its probability. Now 
if this section were separately considered, 
the presumption might appear very slight 
and unsatisfactory. But the same presump- 

l 2 



148 

tlon is virtually contained in almost every 
succeeding section. Thus it is desirable 
that we should be made acquainted with 
the creation of the world. Sect. 6. It is 
desirable to clear up the moral attributes of 
the Deity, by showing that man was origin- 
ally created innocent, Sect. 7. It is de- 
sirable to explain those contradictions which 
subsist between reason and passion, that 
have arisen from the Fall, Sect. 9. ; but 
this knowledge could only have been ob- 
tained by a Divine Revelation ; and there- 
fore the desirableness of such Revelation is 
shown in several different ways ; and, con- 
sequently, that probability which was at 
first only a faint and distant presumption, 
might afterwards have been stated as a 
strong and luminous argument. 

Again, in Sect. 3., the teachableness of 
man's nature is urged as a presumptive evi- 
dence in favour of a Revelation. This 
might be thought a very faint and insuffi- 
cient argument when taken by itself. But, 
in Sect. 4., it is shown that evidence of a 
Revelation must necessarily be miraculous. 
Now, this kind of evidence depends upon 



149 

the principle before laid down ; it is con- 
nected with the teachableness of human 
nature ; for if we had been possessed of 
sufficient innate knowledge, there could 
have been no necessity for such external 
evidence. The same argument is also 
strengthened by the presumption men- 
tioned in Sect. 29., that a Revelation would 
contain some mysterious doctrines ; by 
Sect. 32., that our knowledge is dependent 
on the Divine veracity ; by Sect. 44., that 
it would be one of the chief objects of a 
Revelation to humble human pride, &c. 
See also Sect. 23. 25. and 26. 

So, in Sect. 35., it is mentioned as a pro- 
bability that the success of a Revelation 
would not be universal ; and it is hinted 
that this arises out of the moral nature of 
its evidences, which do not admit of strict 
demonstration. But the same probability 
is also connected with Sect. 39., in which is 
shown that a Revelation would be gradual 
and progressive ; also with Sect. 36., that it 
would afford scope for moral candour ; also 
with Sect. 41., that it would become the 
medium of diffusing order and civilisation 

l 3 



150 

throughout the world ; also with Sect. 42. , 
that it would be supported by the moral 
superiority of its adherents over the charac- 
ters of its opponents, &c. &c. 

These examples are sufficient to point 
out the reality of this kind of connection 
in the evidence. It will be still more ap- 
parent, however, from the following table, 
in which the several sections are arranged 
according to this method. 



151 



A Table of References by "which the force and connection 
of the evidences of the First Part may be ascertained. 

Sect. 

1. and 2. The Possibility and the Desirableness of a 
Revelation are illustrated by every argument con- 
tained in the whole work. 
3.-4. 6. 15. 18. 19. 21. 24. 25. 29. 30, 31. 32. 33. 37- 

39. 
4.-6. 13. 15. 18. 21. 23. 25. 26. 29. 31. 32.43. 44. 
5. — This presumption is illustrated throughout the 

whole. 
6.-5. 7- 8- 9. 10. 1 1. 12. 15. 29. 31. 32. 33. 39. 43. 
7.-6.8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17- 18.19. 
8.-7. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 25. 26. 

28. 31.33. 34.35. 

9. — The same. 

10. — The same. 

11. — The same. 

12. — The same. 

13.— 8. 14. 15. 28. 29. 35. 36. 42. 44. 
14.—5. 8. 9. 10. 11. 15. 29. 35. 42. > 

15.— 3. 5. 6.7- 8.29. 
16.— 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. J5. 1?. 18, 19. 21.25. 

26. 28. 35. 41, &c. 
17.— 3. 5. 7- 8. 9. 11. 16. 18. 19. 24. 25.26.27.28.29. 

34. 36. 37, &c. 
18.— 2. 3. 4. 7. 16. 17. 19- 21* 25. 26. 2*}. 28. 29. 30. 

32. 33. 34. 37, &c. 
19.— 3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 16. 1-7. 18.25. 26. 28. 

42. 44. 
20.— 3. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 14. 16. 18. 19. 22. 

L 4 



152 

Sect. 

21.— 2. 3. 23. 24. 25. 26. 29. 31. 32. 44. 

22.— The argument of this section is illustrated by all 

those presumptions which are brought forward to 

point out the connection of Natural and Revealed 

Theology. 
23.-4. 5. 17. 18. 19. 21. 24. 25.26. 29. 33. 37. 44. 
2k.*— 2. 3. 4. 5. 7- 18. 19. 20. 22. 23. 25. 26. 27. 29. 30. 

31. 33.37- 45. 
25.-5. 7.8. 9. 10, 11. 12. 14. 16. 17. 18. 19.21.22.23. 

24. 
26.-2. 3. 5. 16. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 27. 29. 32. 36. 

39. 40. 42. 43. 

27.-2. 3. 4. 5. 7- 16. 18.28.29. 32. 33. 34. 37. 38.41. 

42. 
28.-4. 5. 7. 13. 16. 17. 18. 19. 25. 26. 2*J. 29. 32. 34. 

35. 36. 37. 
29.— 1. 3. 4, 18. 21. 23. 25. 26. 32. 43. 44. 
30.— 3. 5. 22. 24. 25. 31. 33. 37. 40. 
31.— 3. 5. 6. 22. 24. 25. 30. 33. 37. 40. 41. 43. 45. 
32 3. 4. 6. 7. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 26. 27. 28. 29. 

30. 31. 33. 37. 38, &c. 
33,-3, 4. 6. 23. 24. 25. 3a 31. 32. 35. 36. 37- 38. 39. 

40. 41. 43. 45. 

34.-2. 5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 16. 17- 18. 19.25.26,27. 

28. 32. 37. 38. 39, &c. 
35.-5. 8. 9. 10. 11. 13. 14. 16. 19. 28. 36. 38. 39. 42. 

43. 44. 
36.-4. 5. 8. 9. 10. 11. 14. 16. 19. 25. 28. 29. 30. 35. 

38, 39. 42. 44. 
37.-3. 18. 24. 27. 28. 30. 33. 34. 40. 41. 42. 44. 45. 
38—3. 4. 5. 27. 28. 32. 34. 36. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 45. 
39;— 5. 6. 19. 33. 35. 36. 38. 40. 41. 42. 43. 45. 
40,-2. 6. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 24. 25. 26. 27.28. 33. 34. 

37. 38. 39, &c< 



153 

Sect. 

41.— 2. 3. 7. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 24. 25. 26. 27. 32. 33. 

34. 37, &c. 
42.-3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 14. 16. 18. 24. 27. 35. 36. 

37. 38. 39, &c. 
43.-2. 4. 5. 18. 23. 24. 27. 28. 33. 34. 37- 38. 39. 40. 

41. 42, &c. 
44.-3. 5. 9. 10. 11. 16. 18. 19. 25. 26. 29. 32. 37- 
45. — 2. 3. 20. 23. 24. 26, 27. 28. 32. 34. 37. 38. 39. 40. 

41. 42, &c. 
46.-2. 5. 6. 7. 13. 14. 15. 18. 20. 22. 23. 25. 26. 27- 

28, 29, 32. 34, 37. 39. 41. 43. 



154 



A Table of the Coincidences and Connections between the 
First and Second Parts of this Work. 

Parti. Part II. 

1. and 2. These presumptions are illustrated and con- 
firmed by every section. 
3.-3. 5. 6. 9. 10. 13. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 23. 24. 26. 29. 

30. 34. 35. 36. 3?, &c. 
4. — Passim. 
5. — Passim. 
6.-2. 3. 4. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 17. 25. 28. 30. 32. 36. 37- 

40. 42. 47. 
7.-2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 16. 17- 18. 20. 21. 22. 

23. 30. 31. 32. 36. 37- 38, &c. 

8.-2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 22. 24. 
25. 29. 31. 33. 36. 39. 41, &c. 

9.-3. 5. 7- 8. 9. 10. 11. 15. 16. 20. 21. 22. 24. 27. 31. 

32. 33. 36. 39. 41. 42, &c. 
10. — The same. 
11. — The same. 

12.— 3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 20. 22. 25. 26. 28. 31. 33. 
13.— 4. 6. 7. 8. 21. 26. 33. 39. 
14.— 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 
15.— 3.f6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 20. 21. 24. 33. 39. 
16. — Passim. 
1 7. — Passim. 
18.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 

24. 26. 27. 29. 30. 32, &c. 

19.— 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 

22. 23. 24. 26. 27. 29. 30, &c. 
20.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 23. 24. 25. 

28. 30. 31. 33. 34. 35. 39, &c. 



155 



Part I. Part II. 

21.— 3. 4. 5. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21, 

26. 34. 41. 42.46. 
22.-2. 3. 5. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 26. 34. 35, &c. 
23.-4. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. IS. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 

26. 21. 30. 34. 46. 
24.-2. 5. 10. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 22. 23. 26. 29. 

34. 42. 43. 46. 

25.-2. 5. 7. 8. 9- 10. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17- 18. 19.20.21. 

22. 23. 26. 27. 31. 32. 34, &c. 

26.-2. 4. 7- 8. 9. 10. 21. 26. 29. 31. 32. 34. 37. 38. 

4 42. 45. 
27.-2. 3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 23. 24. 25. 29. 30. 31. 32. 34. 

35. 42. 45. 47. 

28.-2. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 12. 20. 21. 23. 24. 25. 31. 32. 

34. 38. 42. 45. 47. 

29.-3.4. 5. 10. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 20. 21. 22. 26. 27- 

30, 34. 35. 42. 45. 46. 
30.— 3. 5. 10. 20. 22. 27. 28. 29. 31. 32. 34. 37. 45. 46. 
31. — 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 19. 23. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 34. 

35. 36. 37. 38. 42. 
32.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8j &c. 
33. — Passim. 

34.-2. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 12. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 

23. 24. 25. 27. 29, &c. 

35.-5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 24. 33. 35. 36. 39. 43. 

36. — The same. 

37.-2. 3. 5. 8. 9. 10. 13. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 

24. 26. 27. 29. 31. 34, &c. 

38.-2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14, &c. &c 
39.-3. 5. 6. 9. 10. 19. 31. 32. 33. 35. 36. 37- 38. 45. 
40.— .5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 20. 27. 31. 32. 34. 36. 37. 38. 
40. 42. 47. 



156 



Part I. Part II. 

41.— 2. 3. 5. 6. 7- 8. 9. 10. 23. 24. 30. 31. 32. 34. 35. 

36. 37. 38. 42, &c 
42.-2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 

26. 29. 30. 31, &c. 
43.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8- 9. 10. 18. 19. 20. 21. 23. 24. 29. 

30. 31. 32. 34, &c. 
44.-2. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 15. 16. 20. 21. 22. 26. 27. 28. 

30. 34. 41. 45. 46. 
45.-2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 V 8. 9. 10. 11. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 

26. 29. 30. 31, &c. 
46.-2. 4, 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15, &c,&c. &c. 



PART THE SECOND. 

INTRODUCTION. 

If we could suppose that nothing more 
had been shown by the preceding observ- 
ations, than the bare possibility that some 
Revelation might be given by God to man ; 
and that there was nothing absurd or con- 
tradictory in the supposition to prevent its 
becoming a subject of rational enquiry ; we 
might now proceed to examine those his- 
torical evidences on which the Christian 
Revelation in particular professes to be 
founded. 

Rut if, previous to our examination of 
this historical evidence, we should compare 
the doctrines and arguments of the Chris- 
tian religion with those general principles 
which have been stated as likely to enter 
into any Revelation of God to man, there 
would unquestionably arise a strong pre- 
sumption either for or against its credibility, 



158 

in proportion as we found it agreeable or 
contradictory to those sentiments which are 
suggested by the operations of reason, or by 
our experience of the visible government 
of Providence. 

To show the force and reality of this 
kind of reasoning, let us suppose that Chris- 
tianity had contradicted these general prin- 
ciples. Let us suppose that its truth was 
neither desirable nor important ; that it was 
not founded on miraculous evidence ; that 
it did not appeal to our rational faculties ; 
that it had not given an account of the crea- 
tion of the world, of man's original inno- 
cence, nor of his fall from that innocence ; 
that it was not adapted to a state of moral 
trial and discipline ; that it did not de- 
lineate human nature faithfully ; that it did 
not inculcate the unity of God ; that it did 
not harmonise with our conception of his 
attributes ; that it contained no doctrines 
beyond our comprehensions ; that it had 
appointed no medium of approach to the 
Deity ; that it had offered no hopes of par- 
don on repentance ; no terrors to impenitent 
sinners ; that it had proposed no atonement 



159 



for our offences ; that it had commanded 
us to believe we were saved by the death 
of Christ, without permitting us to worship 
Him ; that it had promised no spiritual aid 
and assistance ; that its Author had not in- 
structed us by his example ; that its motives 
to repentance and holiness were not more 
powerful than those of reason ; that it had 
brought no fresh arguments for a future life, 
and for a state of eternal happiness or misery 
after death ; that it had no visible and posi- 
tive institutions ; that it had not inculcated 
a dependence on the mercy of God, rather 
than on our own merits; that its rewards 
and punishments were not commensurate 
with the vast capacities of our souls ; that 
it had not promoted the knowledge, happi- 
ness, and civilisation of mankind; that it 
was not adapted to the capacities of the 
poor ; that its truth had not been admitted 
by the majority of the learned ; that its in- 
fluence had gradually decayed with its age ; 
that its enemies had been men of distin- 
guished worth and probity ; that it had not 
improved both the theory and the practice 
of morals ; that it was opposed by a regular 



160 

and consistent system of Deism ; that it Was 
not intended for the benefit of all mankind, 
nor capable of becoming a universal reli- 
gion ; that it did not seem worthy to be 
esteemed the final cause of nature, &c. &c. 
Now, let any man, for the sake of trying 
our argument, imagine that Christianity had 
thwarted and disappointed our natural ex- 
pectations in such particulars, and he will 
perceive what it is that we mean by the 
connection of Natural and Revealed reli- 
gion, and what it is that we aim at by asso- 
ciating its evidences with the philosophy of 
the human mind. 

It is readily admitted that a Revelation 
notoriously false would in all probability 
have embraced some of these particulars, 
and thus would have made some approach 
to the dictates of reason. But this would 
only verify the remark of St. Austin, " nulla 
falsa doctrina est quce non aliquid veri per- 
misceat" It would show, that to render 
errors and superstitions plausible, they must 
partake of the nature of truth ; not that 
truth is to be undervalued because it is 

liable to be mingled with error. Besides, 

ii 



161 



our argument is cumulative, it is to be 
taken in its whole amount. The question 
is not whether some of these particulars 
would not have been embraced by a false 
Revelation, but whether all of them in con- 
junction may not be looked upon as a pre- 
sumptive evidence of a true one. This we 
affirm to be the case; and till some false 
religion shall be adduced which comprises 
all these probabilities, without errors and 
absurdities sufficiently powerful to coun- 
teract them, the argument must be ad- 
mitted as valid, or the entire force of cir- 
cumstantial and presumptive evidence must 
be denied. 

Perhaps it may seem to demand an apo- 
logy, that some of these probabilities could 
hardly have occurred to the mind, if they 
had not been echoed by the experience of 
a particular Revelation. To a certain ex- 
tent we are willing to grant the truth of this 
observation. But as we have before re- 
marked *, it is not an objection to the force, 
but to the form of our argument. To show 

* See Introductiorij Part L 
M 



162 

the consistency of Christianity with right 
reason, and with the wants and demands 
of nature, it is sufficient that we can per- 
ceive its reasonableness and propriety after 
it has been made known. In this, as in 
many other respects, Revelation agrees en- 
tirely with natural theologyi the arguments 
of which are by no means self-apparent, 
nor to be elicited without much study and 
observation. 

The fact is this — Tor the sake of our 
argument we have been obliged to place 
ourselves in an ideal situation, as if we had 
never heard of Christianity. This is like a 
legal fiction that we may afterwards arrive 
at an important truth. But the fiction does 
not in any degree affect the reality of our 
conclusion ; for whether these particulars 
could have been foreseen or no, independ- 
ently of Revelation, (a question which can- 
not be ascertained with minute precision,) 
still it is equally clear and certain that they 
are at present approved and ratified by our 
judgments. 

But it is of far greater consequence to 
repeat, that we do not pretend by these 



163 

arguments to demonstrate the truth of 
Christianity, but merely to display its pre- 
sumptive evidence. Some of these argu- 
ments are little more than collations of 
corresponding difficulties, or merely nega- 
tive agreements between the works and the 
word of God. These are intended to hum- 
ble that arrogance which would demand a 
more complete knowledge of things spiritual 
and eternal, than that which we now possess 
of things temporal and material. In others* 
we adduce various degrees of positive re- 
semblance ; some of which are only slight 
analogies, and some amounting to a full 
and satisfactory proof of a unity of work- 
manship and design. But whether slight 
or powerful, they all tend to produce one 
general effect ; the force of the argument 
consists in its complexity; and to esti- 
mate this force with accuracy, we must 
consider the number and multiplicity, the 
minuteness and the connection of its com- 
ponent parts. 

The same remarks, which an excellent 
author* has applied to the principles of 

# See Stewart's Outlines of Moral Philosophy, p. 238. 
M 2 



164 

natural religion* will also apply to the vari- 
ous particulars which compose our argument, 
" They all hang together in such a manner, 
that if one of them be granted, it facilitates 
the way for the reception of the rest. Nor 
is it merely with each other that these prin- 
ciples are connected. They have a relation 
to all the other principles of moral philo- 
sophy ; insomuch that a person who enter- 
tains just views of the one, never fails to 
entertain just views of the other. Perhaps 
it would not be going too far to assert, that 
they have a relation to almost all the truths 
we know in the moral, the intellectual, and 
the material worlds. One thing is certain, 
that, in proportion as our knowledge ex- 
tends, our doubts and objections disappear, 
new light is continually breaking in upon 
us from every quarter, and more of order 
and system and design appear in the uni- 
verse." 

To enable the reader to judge with greater 
facility of the extent and complexity of this 
incidental connection between different parts 
of the work, numerous references are sub- 
joined, by which every one will be enabled 



165 

to perceive the force and consistency of the 
general argument. But to catch the com- 
bined result of so many conspiring particu- 
lars, it is necessary that these references 
should be examined with care and atten- 
tion. Hence we submit our labours to 
the public, rather as materials for thinking, 
than as professing to offer a finished and 
complete composition. They are hints and 
suggestions to awaken the thoughts and 
meditations of others : where they fail of 
producing this effect, they fail of all their 
advantages. It is but a sketch and an out- 
line, to be filled up by the care and assiduity 
of the reader. 

At the conclusion of these remarks, the 
author would beg leave to direct the atten- 
tion of the public towards the bearing of 
this argument, as it tends to counteract the 
prevailing errors of Antinomian enthusiasm. 
It is too much the fashion of the present 
age, amongst those of orthodox sentiments, 
to decry the use of reason in matters of re- 
ligion, and to state the doctrines of Reve- 
lation as if they were merely positive and 
arbitrary appointments. Perhaps this nar- 
m 3 



166 

row and mistaken view of Christian Theo- 
logy may have arisen originally from a desire 
to oppose the contrary errors of some of our 
eminent divines of the last century ; who, 
it must be allowed, were too much inclined 
to magnify the powers of reason, and to 
speak of natural religion as a separate and 
independent system. But it is the object 
of the present work to strike out a middle 
road between these opposite extremes ; to 
state natural Theology, not as independent, 
but as associated with revealed religion ; 
and thus to combine the doctrines of the 
Gospel with the powers and principles of 
the human mind. It is the general result 
and tendency of our work to show, that 
though human reason be not sufficiently 
strong to discover truth by its native and 
unassisted powers, yet that it is able to 
approve and to recognise it, when it is laid 
before it with proper authority. " The only 
view of antiquity," says Warburton, " which 
gives solid advantage to the Christian cause, 
is such a one as shows natural reason to be 
clear enough to perceive truth, and the ne- 
cessity of its deductions when proposed; 



167 

but not generahy strong enough to discern 
it and draw right deductions from it." Div. 
Legal. Book III. sect. v. " If some," con- 
tinues the same profound writer, " have 
allowed too little to natural religion, there 
are others who have ascribed a great deal 
too much to it: systems which, however 
different, are alike injurious to the great 
truth which they profess to defend. The 
one, by annihilating natural religion, cut 
away the ground and foundations of Chris- 
tianity ; the other, by giving to natural 
religion certain doctrines of perfection to 
which it doth not pretend, overturn the 
superstructure." Book IX. ch. i. p. 77. 



m 4 



168 



SECTION L 



Is it not possible that the Christian Revelation 
may be true ? 

The possibility of a Divine Revelation in 
general being admitted *, it will follow that 
the Christian Revelation in particular maybe 
true, supposing it to contain nothing which 
is derogatory to the nature and attributes 
of God, or which is plainly contradictory, 
and therefore impossible for infinite power 
to effect. That the belief of Christianity 
does not necessarily imply the admission of 
any such absurdity or contradiction, is in 
the highest degree probable from the re- 
ception which it had met with in the world. 
It would be scarcely possible that a Reli- 
gion which thus bore the marks of its 
own condemnation, should have prospered 
amongst the most learned and civilized na- 
tions ; and that individuals of the greatest 
talents and virtues should have been de- 
luded into its belief. A gross and palpable 

* See Part I. Sect. 1. 



169 

imposture which violated all the principles 
of reason, and of Natural Religion never 
could have maintained itself under the 
governments of modern Europe. It would 
have become the interest of all legislators 
to have declared themselves against it ; 
but such accusations have never been 
brought against Christianity, because they 
would be plainly incredible. 

The very arguments which have been 
used against Christianity will show that by 
some possibility it may be true, for who 
would argue either for or against any thing 
which it was impossible that mankind should 
believe? Such a Religion may be false, 
but its falsity cannot be of that nature 
which implies its utter impossibility, it 
cannot shock the common sense and under- 
standings of Mankind. That Christianity 
may possibly be true, however unlikely, is, 
I apprehend, either formally or tacitly ad- 
mitted by all those who have written against 
it. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 47.] 



170 



SECTION II. 

Is it not desirable that the Christian Reve- 
lation should be true ? * 

However any man may be disposed to 
doubt concerning the truth of Christianity 
considered as matter of fact and of history, 
it is not possible to deny that if it were 
true, it would be for the general benefit 
and advantage of mankind. It cannot 
be esteemed as a matter of indifference, 
for example, whether the whole world 
has been redeemed by the Son of God. 
Every one must be left to form his own 
opinions respecting the truth or the falsity 
of the doctrine ; but no one could assert, 
that if the truth of the doctrine were esta- 
blished, it would not be of the utmost 
importance to our happiness, and a disco- 
very in which the whole human race would 
not be most deeply interested. The same 
reasoning will apply to each of the other 
doctrines of Christianity in particular, and 

* See Part I. Sect. 2. 



171 



to their aggregate amount as forming one 
entire and connected system. 

But when we have allowed not only the 
possibility, but the importance of this Re- 
velation, we lie under the strongest obli- 
gations to enquire into its truth. It is an 
offence against reason and against natural 
religion, not to enter into a serious inves- 
tigation of the argument. Indeed, as we 
have already remarked, the extreme import- 
ance and desirableness of such Revelation, 
ought to be esteemed as a presumptive 
symptom in its favour, as adding some- 
thing to the previous hypothesis of its 
abstract possibility ; since it is evident, that 
if any Revelation has been given by God 
to man, it would appear to us of the utmost 
importance to human happiness. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 48.] 



172 



SECTION III. 



Do not the Scriptural Accounts of Revelation 
accord with the teachable State of our Fa- 
culties, and with the existing Phenomena of 
the Human Mind f * 

Man, upon his first creation, according to 
the Scriptures, was instructed in his reli- 
gious duties by God himself. The sacred 
writings go all along upon the supposition 
that the first religion was the effect of Di- 
vine Revelation, not the slow and dubious 
result of reasoning. They represent man 
as created with faculties to approve and 
perceive the force of its truth when brought 
before his mind ; not that he was born with 
innate knowledge, or that he had the power 
of inventing truth independent of instruc- 
tion. 

Now, whether the truth of this account 
be allowed or no, concerning the original 
creation of man, it must at least be esteemed 

* See Part I. Sect. 3. 



173 

a probable and consistent relation, because 
it accords, upon the whole, with the present 
state of our faculties, in which some degree 
of communicated knowledge appears to be 
essentially necessary to our advancement in 
moral and religious truth. 

But when, according to the same Scrip- 
tures, the faculties and conditions of men 
became afterwards deteriorated, it pleased 
God to give him another Revelation of his 
will, adapted to his altered situation. Now, 
whatever might be the state of our faculties 
on the former supposition, we are able to 
form a decided opinion concerning them, 
as they are supposed to have been when 
this second Revelation was given, because 
it is represented as the very same state in 
which they now are. 

Under these circumstances, the Scrip- 
tures describe man as unable to invent a 
religion for himself; but as still able to 
approve of what is taught him on divine 
authority ; and as possessed of competent 
powers to investigate the evidence of such 
a religion. They inform us, that this Re- 
velation was for many agefs confined chiefly 



174 

to a particular people, amongst whom it was 
kept up by frequent miracles ; but that the 
rest of mankind gradually lost its memory ; 
and that, for want of a sufficiently author- 
ised standard to guide their opinions, they 
fell into the grossest errors and idolatries. 
Query. Do not these accounts accord with 
our knowledge of heathen antiquity ? 

The same Scriptures assert, that at length 
it pleased God to republish this Revelation 
on a more extended and comprehensive 
scale, to adapt it to the common circum- 
stances of mankind, and to join with its pe- 
culiar doctrines, the precepts of a most 
pure and sublime morality. 

Now, although it is not to be expected 
that any man should give his assent to the 
truth of the Christian Revelation till he 
has fully satisfied himself of its historical 
veracity ; yet, if this be a fair account of 
these Revelations, which are contained in 
the Scriptures, we may appeal to our oppo- 
nents whether there be any thing in the 
supposition of their probable truth, which 
is in any degree absurd. Do not they ap- 
pear suited to the state of our rational 



175 

faculties? Is there any likelihood that a 
rude people, devoid of all traditionary 
knowledge, and cut off from all intercourse 
with the rest of mankind, would ever arrive 
at the knowledge of the true God, or reason 
out for themselves a consistent theory of 
religion ? Is there not plainly wanted in 
matters of Theology, a line to separate 
truth from mere speculation ? and can this 
line be drawn by any thing less than Divine 
authority ? 

The following quotation from Seneca will 
illustrate the general reasoning which has 
been here employed : Boni honestique noti- 
tiam nos docere natura non potuit ; semina 
nobis scientice dedit, scientiam non dedit. 
Nobis videtur observatio collegisse, et rerum 
scepe factarum inter se collatio per analo- 
giam nostro intellectu, et honestum et bonum 
judicante. Epist. 120. 



176 



SECTION IV. 

Is it any Objection to the Christian Reoela- 
tion, that it is founded on the Evidence of 
Miracles ? 

Having shewn* that we can form no 
conception of a Divine Revelation which 
is not made known to us in a supernatural 
manner, and the chief and distinguishing 
evidence of which does not arise from ex- 
ternal miracles addressed to the senses, it 
ought rather to be esteemed a presumptivie 
argument in favour of Christianity, than as 
any objection against it, that it professes 
to have furnished us with the only kind of 
evidence by which the truth of any Reve- 
lation can be established. 

That a miracle in itself implies no con- 
tradiction is plain, from the consideration 
that it is necessarily included in our con- 
ception of a Revelation, the possible truth 

* Part I. Sect. 4, 



m 

of which has been already admitted. But 
if a Revelation itself be possible, it cannot 
necessarily contain under it any contradic- 
tion; — a contradiction not being an object 
of power, and therefore implying a direct 
impossibility. 

Another proof of the possibility of mi- 
racles, which is less dependent on abstract 
reasoning, arises out of the popular per- 
suasion of mankind in all ages respecting 
their existence. Now, although this be 
not any sufficient proof that they have 
actually occurred, yet it is full and sufficient 
proof that they may have occurred, i. e. that 
they involve no direct contradiction or im- 
possibility. For how could any opinions 
become universally prevalent, the very sup- 
position of which was absurd and incre- 
dible? 

Another argument for the credibility of 
miracles arises out of the impossibility of 
tracing any necessary or immutable rela- 
tions between secondary causes and their 
effects. There is no connecting link, as far 
as we can discern, between any physical 

N 



178 

cause and its attendant consequence be- 
yond that of the positive will of the Cre- 
ator, that the one should constantly pre- 
cede, and the other should constantly follow* 
Hence all our philosophy must be limited 
by facts and experience. But if every phy- 
sical effect depends on the will of the Cre- 
ator, it is but in the nature of a positive 
appointment ; and the same authority 
which made the appointment can at any 
time suspend or revoke it. Whoever then 
argues for the impossibility of miracles, 
should first demonstrate the eternal and 
immutable relations of physical pheno- 
mena to each other. But this philosophy 
would prove equally at variance with faith 
and with reason ; for it would contradict all 
the principles of experimental science, as 
well as subvert all the doctrines of Natural 
Theology. 

After this view of the question, we ask, 
whether the miraculous evidence of the 
Christian religion does not bear a mani- 
fest reference to the constitution of the 
human mind, as corresponding to our ab- 



179 



stract conceptions of that particular spe- 
cies of evidence by which alone any Reve- 
lation could be authenticated, in connection 
with reason ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 50.] 



N % 



180 



SECTION V.- 



Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its Agreement with the Circumstances 
of Mankind? * 

It has been remarked, that the evidence of 
miracles is precisely the same kind of evi- 
dence as that which is ordinarily addressed 
to our senses ; and that the belief of miracles, 
when reported to us upon testimony, is 
precisely the same kind of assent as that 
upon which the whole fabric of history de- 
pends. Hence we have deduced the pro- 
bability, that if any Revelation were afford- 
ed to mankind, it would accord with the 
existing state of their moral faculties, and 
that it would, in its general character, bear 
some resemblance to the course of Provi- 
dence. 

Now this is what we assert may be dis- 
covered in Christianity, when it is soberly 
and dispassionately compared with our moral 

* See Part L Sect 5. 



181 



faculties, and with the state of the world 
around us. The one is made to correspond 
to the other, so as to conduce to its plan 
and its purposes : they preserve a mutual 
relation, so that the one reflects light and evi- 
dence upon the other. Even in their difficul- 
ties, there is a degree of resemblance and 
proportion, that kind of general harmony and 
effect, which intimates that they may have 
proceeded from the same author, and may 
be intended for the same end, since they 
are carried on with a degree of intercourse 
which admits of their mutual illustration. 

For the full proof of these positions, we 
must refer to the numerous examples which 
are brought forward in the present work ; 
but it may be proper, on the present occa- 
sion, to mention the following striking par- 
ticulars. 

First, it is matter of plain and indisput- 
able fact, that the morality of the New 
Testament is essentially the same as that 
which the wisest moralists and legislators 
have ever inculcated; that there is not a 
single moral duty prescribed by the Gospel, 
which is not approved of by reason, and 

N-3 



182 

which is not favourable to human happi- 
ness; and that, even in its most mysterious 
doctrines, it still bears a manifest reference 
to our active virtues. 

Secondly, it cannot be questioned, that, 
whether this Religion be true or false, it is 
most intimately connected with the passions 
and affections of mankind ; that it appeals 
to our hopes and fears, bespeaks our love, 
pity, and gratitude, and that it leaves not 
untouched any motive, whether pathetic, 
sublime, or self-interested, which may bring 
us to co-operate with its purposes. 

Thirdly, it must also be admitted, that 
the author of Christianity has proposed his 
religion to the universal acceptance of all 
classes of society, but that it is addressed in 
a particular manner to the poor. Now if 
Christianity had not the principles of human 
nature upon its side, it could not have 
received the support and acceptance of 
those who are chiefly animated with natural 
sentiments. Perhaps the peculiar mode of 
teaching which Jesus adopted, his frequent 
parables, and his continual allusions to the 
material world, mightprove even something 
still more definite. The same observation 



183 

will apply to the other parts of the New Testa- 
ment. Thus St. Paul confutes the objections 
of those who denied the possibility of a Re- 
surrection, by appealing to our experience 
of nature in the ordinary course of vege« 
tation. 

Again, there are marks of this corres- 
pondence to nature, discoverable in the 
peculiar character of the founder of Chris- 
tianity ; " who was, in all respects, made 
like unto us, sin only excepted ;'" " who took 
not upon himself the nature of angels, but 
who took upon him the seed of Abraham." 
Had some celestial spirit been selected as 
the herald of our religion, we could not 
have accounted for this warm sympathy 
with the sentiments of our nature : but this 
difficulty is removed, when we remember 
that the author and finisher of the Christian 
faith resembled us in all the innocent emo- 
tions of humanity ; and that " he submitted 
even to be tempted, that he might have the 
power and compassion to succour those who 
are tempted." 

Lastly, the history of Christianity, in its 
temporal effects upon society, demonstrates 
n 4 



184 

that it is admirably suited to the character 
of man, to the constitution of the world, 
and to the general civilization of the spe- 
cies. Whether it be true or false in its 
divine pretensions, even its enemies have 
allowed it to possess this salutary influence 
on our social intercourse. But if this is 
allowed, it must be analogous to the prin- 
ciples of reason, and associated with the 
tendencies of God's moral government ; for 
whatever, upon the whole, leads to the ad- 
vancement of human happiness and know- 
ledge, must be consonant to the noblest 
principles of our nature, and must harmo- 
nise with the existing constitution of the 
world. 

"It should be remembered, however, that 
we do not adduce these facts, as if they po- 
sitively proved the truth of the Christian 
Revelation ; but merely as corresponding 
to our general anticipations, that, if any 
Revelation were given, it would act in uni- 
son and connection with the government of 
Providence, and in accordance with our 
moral sentiments. This, I apprehend, is as 
far as the argument can be applied, with re- 



185 

lation to those who do not previously admit 
the truth of Christianity. But to those 
who do admit it, yet who seek to divorce it 
from reason and nature, these reflections 
may be esteemed as a full and satisfactory 
proof of their dangerous errors and miscon- 
ceptions ; a proof, not depending upon the 
interpretation of a few dark and dubious 
passages of scripture, but drawn out of the 
vitals of its system, and arising from the 
whole scope and genius and tenor of the 
Christian dispensation. 

There are two books, as Bacon remarks, 
which have been laid before mankind for 
their earnest study and attention ; " the 
Scriptures, which reveal the will of God, 
and the Creation, which declares his power; 
whereof the latter is a key unto the former." * 
" As to the explanation of mysteries, we 
find that God himself condescends to the 
weakness of our capacity, and opens his 
mysteries, so that they may be best under- 
stood by us ; inoculating, as it were, his 
Revelations into the notions and compre- 

* De Augment. Sclent vol i. p. 64. 



186 

liensions of our reason." * " But the ca- 
"pita! precept," as the same author ex- 
cellently observes, " is this, that the eye of 
the mind be never taken off from things 
themselves ; but receive their images 
truly as they are. And God forbid that 
we should ever offer the dreams of fancy 
for a model of the world ; but rather, 
through the divine favour, should write 
a revelation and real view of the stamps 
and signatures of the Creator upon the 
creatures." f 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 51.] 
* De Augment. Scient. vol, ii. p. 296. f Vol. I p. 30. 



187 



SECTION VI. 

Is it not to this Revelation that we owe our 
settled Opinions respecting the Origin arid 
Creation of the World ? * 

In our modern systems of Natural Theo- 
logy, it is usual to deduce our obligations 
to God from considering him as the intelli- 
gent Maker of the universe. That our 
earth was created within a definite period 
of time, is an hypothesis which is now 
generally admitted ; and no doubts are en- 
tertained by Theists that the present system 
of Nature has not existed from eternity. But 
the truth of this assumption was by no 
means generally acknowledged amongst the 
ancient Theists ; none of whom, according 
to Mosheim, admitted the possibility that 
even Almighty Power could create any 
thing without some pre-existing substance. 
Such being the result of their enquiries 
concerning the creation, we may reasonably 

* See Part I. Sect. *>. 



188 

deduce the necessity that some farther light 
was required, beyond what reason and phi- 
losophy could furnish, to ascertain the pri- 
mitive origination of mankind, together 
with the date and origin of the material 
world. This light could have been im- 
parted to us only through the medium of 
a Revelation from the Author of nature. 
With this aid, we not only can discern the 
credibility of this hypothesis, but we can 
demonstrate the absurdity of every other ; 
though, if we had been left to the mere 
deductions of reason, it would appear as 
if the conception of a creation ex nihilo 9 
were too bold a speculation for the most 
lofty genius to entertain. So just is the 
opinion of an inspired writer, that it is 
" through faith we understand the worlds 
" were made by the power of God ; and 
"that the objects of the visible creation 
"were made out of things which do not 
" appear ;" L e. without any pre-existing 
matter, and solely by the will and wisdom 
of the Almighty Creator. 

Such being now the acknowledged basis 

of Natural Theology, it must be granted, as 

ii 



189 

no slight presumption in favour of Revela- 
tion, that it professes to have furnished us 
with the only sure and indubitable evidence 
on which such information can be founded ; 
viz. upon that testimony which proceeds 
immediately from the Divine Being. As 
to the internal credibility of this doctrine, 
it is apparent from its being generally re- 
ceived as an article of rational Theism. 

Query. May we not trace to this dis- 
covery of Revelation, much of that clear- 
ness and precision which distinguish our 
modern systems of natural and moral science 
from those mystical conceits which so uni- 
versally mingled with the speculations of 
the ancients, on account of their ignorance 
of those data on which all sound and intel- 
ligible interpretations of nature must pro- 
ceed ? Could any clear or definite concep- 
tions be entertained concerning the laws of 
nature, till it was ascertained that those laws 
were the operations of an intelligent mind ; 
not the blind results of necessity, nor the 
capricious evolutions of chance ? 

[See Notes ^nd Illustrations,. No. 52.] 



190 



SECTION VII. 

Is there not some Credibility derived to Chris- 
tianity from its Connection with an Account 
of our Creation in a State of Innocence ? * 

We have already had occasion to remark, 
that it seems extremely natural reasonable 
beings should have some account rendered 
to them of their origin, and of the first 
creation of that world in which they live. 
We have also remarked, that it is in a high 
degree probable, the whole human race 
should have sprung from a single pair of 
progenitors ; and that unless we suppose 
them to have been created in a state of in- 
nocence and virtue, we cannot clear up the 
moral attributes of the Deity, nor establish 
the obligations of natural religion on a sure 
and satisfactory foundation. 

Now, these are considerations which pos- 
sess some degree of abstract probability, 
previously to all enquiries into the authen- 

* See Part I. Sect. 6 and 7. 



191 

ticity of the Mosaic history. As an hypo- 
thesis, it is like that of Copernicus before 
its demonstration by Newton, deserving of 
some attention for its beautiful simplicity? 
and for its conformability to the operations 
of nature. But since it is notorious, that 
unless the Scriptural records of the creation 
be received as authentic, there are no others 
to which we can appeal with any appear- 
ance of truth ; then whatever force there 
be in the previous probability, — that some 
account of the creation would have been 
afforded to us, — this force is concentrated 
on the only account which is in any degree 
credible. 

That man was originally created inno- 
cent, is a doctrine not only admitted by 
Christianity, but it forms the substratum 
of its whole Revelation : whatever credi- 
bility therefore is contained in this abstract 
supposition, must be transferred to the ac- 
count of our religion. And thus the amount 
of all these probabilities is to be thrown 
into the scale of the Christian Revelation ; 
there being no other religion in the world, 
besides the Jewish, which presents us with 



192 



a credible history of the origin of our species* 
or of the creation of our world in such a state 
as would not appear derogatory to the divine 
attributes. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 53.] 



193 



SECTION VIIL 



Is there not some Credibility derived to Chris- 
tianity from its Connection with an Account 
of our Fall from a State of Innocence ? * 

If there be any credibility in the supposition 
that man was originally created innocent, 
there must also be an equal credibility be- 
longing to the Scripture doctrine of the 
Fall ; because, as it is matter of plain ex- 
perience that he is not now innocent, so, 
upon this supposition, he must have lost 
this innocence at some period subsequent to 
his original creation. 

But in addition to this argument, we have 
also remarked several plain intimations both 
of internal and external nature, that he is 
now in a fallen and degraded condition, f 
Perhaps the phenomenon of war would 
be alone sufficient to justify such a suspi- 
cion. Indeed, the fact, to whatever cause 
it might be attributed, seems always to have 

* See Part I. Sect. f. 

f See Part I. Sect. 8, 9, 10. 





194 

been taken for granted, under every form 
of natural religion. The worship of man, 
in all ages and countries, has been the 
worship of a creature conscious of having 
offended his Maker, and desirous to depre- 
cate his displeasure by cries for mercy and 
attempts to atone for his misconduct. But 
if man had been persuaded that God had 
originally created him sinful and inclined 
to evil, I know not how we could have ac- 
counted for such sentiments without a mani- 
fest absurdity. Can any creature repent of 
being what God had originally made him, 
and had intended him to be ? 

Now, Christianity, in connection with 
Judaism, gives us an intelligible history of 
that degraded condition in which we at pre- 
sent are. It furnishes us with a brief, yet 
consistent narrative, that man by the abuse 
of his free agency fell into vice and misery 
from a previous state of holiness and happi- 
ness. Whether this account, considered 
historically, be regarded as true or false, it 
must at least be granted to be a possible 
and intelligible explanation of things as we 
now find them. Nor is it any objection 



195 

against this account, that it proceeds on the 
supposition of an hereditary principle, since 
the same principle has been shown to be 
extensively active amidst all the operations 
of nature. * 

It should be considered, then, that apart 
from all considerations of historical truth, 
there appears to be something probable and 
consonant to reason in the Scriptural ac- 
count of the fall of man from a state of 
innocence. It brings before us the essential 
holiness of God, whilst it explains to us 
both the dignity and the debasement of our 
own nature. It offers us so plain an account 
of the origin of evil, that whether we receive 
it as fact or fiction, we must allow it to be 
a possible solution of a difficulty which is 
otherwise totally inexplicable. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 54,] 
* See Parti. Sect. 11. 



o 2 



196 



SECTION IX. 

Is not Man described in the New Testament 
according to his present Moral Charac- 
ter ? * 

Upon this question the whole application of 
our argument depends. If man be treated 
by Christianity either as better or worse 
than we actually find him, there can be no 
connection between natural and revealed 
theology, and we must contrast, rather than 
combine such opposite systems. 

It is matter of plain fact, however* that 
man is delineated in the New Testament 
just as we find him sketched by philoso- 
phers, exhibited by historians, and experi- 
enced by ourselves. A being neither fault- 
lessly good nor totally depraved ; one who 
has strong inclinations both towards vice 
and virtue; who has a civil war raging in his 
faculties, " the flesh lusting against the spirit,* 
and the spirit lusting against the flesh." 

* See Part I. Sect. 1<L 



197 

The world is depicted as the debatable 
ground on which good and evil spirits are 
actively engaged in attempting to ruin or 
to rescue mankind. He is represented as 
having suffered a violent shock in his moral 
constitution, which has destroyed the ba- 
lance of his passions and corrupted the 
purity of his nature. In this situation, 
penitence is recommended to him as his 
best preservation against temptation ; whilst 
hope is afforded of his being pardoned 
through the mercy of God revealed to him 
through Jesus Christ. 

The whole system of Redemption goes 
upon the supposition, that though weak and 
unable of ourselves to help ourselves, yet 
that we have some capacities which may 
enable us to embrace the grace of God 
when it is propounded to us. All its ex- 
hortations, its reproofs, its hopes and threat- 
enings, are addressed to creatures, who, 
though greatly injured in their moral facul- 
ties, are not entirely devoid of reflection. 
The Gospel is a strong appeal to beings 
who are surrounded with dangers, but who 
are not utterly desperate ; it describes us a& 
o 3 



198 



very far gone from our original innocence, 
but it nowhere denies that we can perceive 
the essential superiority of virtue to vice. 

Now, whatever may be thought of the 
truth of Christianity as a Divine Revelation, 
no man can assert that this description of 
human nature doth not correspond with 
history and experience. It is matter of 
daily observation, and of personal consci- 
ousness, that we are such beings as are here 
delineated ; that we are alternately impelled 
by the conflicting powers of good and evil ; 
that the spirit is willing and the flesh is 
weak ; that we often admire what we can- 
not execute, and approve of that virtue 
which we cannot perform. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 5 5. 2 



199 



SECTION X, 



Is not the present State of Man and his Con- 
dition in the World, suited to such a Reli- 
gion as the Christian ? * 

" One thing," as Butler has observed from 
Origen, " is set over against another. Our 
nature corresponds to our external con- 
dition ; without this correspondence, there 
would be no possibility of any such thing 
as human life and human happiness, which 
life and happiness are therefore the result 
of our nature and condition conjointly. 5 ' 

Although this observation is here applied 
in its strict and literal sense as relating to 
the analogy of natural Religion with the 
course of Providence ; yet it may with equal 
propriety be extended to the Christian Re- 
velation. Suppose either the nature of 
man or our condition in the world be essen- 
tially different from what they now are, and 
this Religion could not have been addressed 
to us. Had we been much better or much 

* See Part I. Sect. 5. 
O 4 



200 

worse in our moral characters, we could 
not have become the subjects of such a 
dispensation. If we had been much better 5 
this assistance would not have been re- 
quired ; if we had been much worse, we 
should not have been capable of receiv- 
ing it. 

Or suppose that the world had been very 
differently constituted from what it now is, 
and it could not have been the theatre 
wherein this Religion could have appeared. 
It is a state of moral discipline, in which 
there are rewards and punishments, severe 
trials, and yet numerous alleviations, a 
dubious appearance of light and shade, 
much uncertainty, and considerable know- 
ledge ; it is that very state, in short, which 
has filled philosophers with doubts and dif- 
ficulties, in which only such a Religion as 
the Christian could have appeared. 

Had all the scenes of life been pleasant 
and triumphant, it would not have been 
possible to have made any advances in 
Christian doctrines. " It is through much 
tribulation that we must enter into the 
kingdom of God." The same necessity 



201 



which is laid upon us for securing our tem- 
poral happiness by the restraint of our pas- 
sions, insensibly conduces to our progress 
in spiritual piety. Or had all the scenes of 
life been adverse and gloomy, had we been 
weighed down with perpetual sorrows and 
disappointments, we could not then have 
raised our drooping heads to the prospects 
of eternity. These overwhelming afflictions 
would have destroyed the anticipations of 
faith and hope. 

Out of numberless particulars, select only 
the shortness and uncertainty of life. Now 
imagine any considerable alteration in this 
respect, and Christianity could not have 
been addressed to man. It is a state of 
casualty, of alarm, of vicissitude, which 
forms the vital atmosphere of our Religion. 

" Of all views," says Paley, " under 
which human life hath ever been considered, 
the most reasonable is that which regards 
it as a state of probation" Now it is upon 
this ground that Christianity hath con- 
structed her entire system. She has every 
where pre-supposed our admission of this 
great doctrine of Natural Theology. It is 



202 

blended with all her delineations of the 
present, and with all her prospects of the 
future. 

The only difference which I can perceive 
in this respect between the views of natural 
and of revealed Religion is this, that where- 
as a state of trial and suffering *, such as 
we are placed in, seems to pre-suppose on 
our part some degree of guilt and unwor- 
thiness, Christianity informs by what means 
we have contracted this guilt, and how we 
were brought into this state of suffering, 
whilst this phenomenon is left totally unac- 
counted for by Natural Theology. That we 
are in such a state is acknowledged equally 
by both. It is a fact so engraved upon 
human life, and so associated with the go- 
vernment of Providence, that we can find 
no escape from its belief, but by rushing 
into universal scepticism. 

" These views of human nature," as an 
excellent author observes, " are not only 
justified, but decidedly confirmed by the 
Scriptures. The mind is there represented 

* See Parti. Sect. 11. 



203 



as possessed of talents entrusted to its use 9 
of which an account is to be rendered 
hereafter. Human life is declared to be a 
state of discipline in which the various 
faculties of mankind are to be exerted, and 
their moral characters formed, tried and 
confirmed, previously to their entering on a 
future and higher existence for which they 
are destined, and in which the final con- 
dition of every individual will be propor- 
tioned to the use which he has made of his 
talents and opportunities in this preparatory 
stage. Life is therefore with great pro- 
priety described as a race in which a prize 
is contended for, or as a season for sowing 
the seed of a future and immortal harvest^ 
as a warfare in which the combatants must 
arm themselves with all the virtues, and 
employ them with zealous courage and en- 
during patience that they may be fitted to 
partake hereafter of the glories of an eter- 
nal triumph." * 

These observations whilst they show the 
wisdom of Christianity as being adapted to 

# Sumner's Records of the Creation, Vol. ii. p. 24. 



204 

the present state and circumstances of man- 
kind, also evince how closely it it> allied to 
the opinions of moralists and legislators 
respecting that situation in which we are 
placed. Since it cannot be denied that 
this is the usual language of Natural Theo- 
logy concerning our experience and situ- 
ations as men, it ought to be esteemed a 
presumptive argument in favour of Reve- 
lation, that it depicts us as Christians under 
similar colours ; that it not only admits the 
reality of* these delineations, but that in all 
its precepts and doctrines, its promises and 
threatenings, it is founded on the suppo- 
sition of their truth. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No, 56.] 



205 



SECTION XI. 



Does not Christianity acquire some Credibility 
from its having established the Belief of 
the Divine Unity ? * 

That the Scriptures of the Old and of the 
New Testament assert, in the most direct 
and positive manner, the strict unity of the 
Divine Being, is allowed by all Christians, 
however they may differ in their interpre- 
tations of particular passages. Whatever 
difficulties we may find in our conceptions 
of the doctrines of the Unity, we feel ob« 
liged to acknowledge this doctrine in per- 
fect consistence with the Unity of God. It 
cannot, then, be equitable to urge that as an 
objection against the Revelation itself, which 
arises entirely out of the imperfections of 
our own faculties. 

But what still further evinces the force of 
our argument is this, that Revelation hath 

# See Part I. Sect. 20. 



206 

in fact been the great medium, both in 
ancient and modern times, of upholding in 
the world the belief of the Unity of the 
Divine Being. That it was so in antiquity, 
is plain from the history of the Jews, when 
compared to that of all other nations, whe- 
ther barbarous or civilized. * And that the 
same effect hath followed from the publi- 
cation of Christianity, is still more appa- 
rent in consequence of its wider diffusion. 
In this respect, even those immense regions 
which own the doctrines of Mahomet are 
indirectly obliged to Revelation. And thus 
it cannot be doubted that, whether Christi- 
anity be true or false, it has proved the most 
efficacious instrument of establishing this 
great doctrine of Natural Theology; and 
that its influence on this subject has been 
fax superior to all the efforts of reason anci 
philosophy. 

But when a sincere Theist has made these 
admissions, it surely becomes him to en- 
quire into the credentials of such a dispen- 
sation. If he acknowledges the doctrine 
of a Providence, let him seriously consider 
whether, upon his own principles of reli- 

ii 



207 

gious belief, it is probable that the most 
important doctrine of Natural Theology 
would have been consigned to the protec- 
tion of a fable and imposture ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 57.] 



208 



SECTION XII. 



Is there not a Universal Agreement in Na- 
tural and Revealed Theology respecting 
the Attributes of God ? * 

Though we are furnished by Christianity 
with a far clearer and more consistent ac- 
count of the divine attributes than could 
have been drawn up by our natural facul- 
ties, yet it does not appear to discover to us 
any attribute which is altogether new and 
original, or any which was before entirely 
unknown. As the power, wisdom, mercy, 
and goodness of God had all in some de- 
gree been revealed to us by the works of 
creation, so the eternity of his nature, and 
the immutability of his justice, had been 
deduced from the principles of reason. 

Without dwelling needlessly upon each 
of these attributes, let us consider these 
observations as they respect the love and the 
justice of God. 

" That God is love," is asserted in Scrip- 
ture, and has been acknowledged by thou- 

* See Part t Sect. 20. 



209 

sands who never heard the tidings of Christ- 
ianity. It is the favourite attribute which 
beams throughout creation ; but it glows 
with still brighter majesty in the system of 
redemption. The views of Natural Theo- 
logy, as they respect that goodness of the 
Creator, which is over all his works, seem 
to tally and correspond with those deline- 
ations of his mercy which prompted him 
to rescue his creatures from eternal ruin. 
If we were treated always harshly and 
cruelly under Providence, there would not 
exist the same resemblance and connection 
that we are now pointing out. 

But, upon the other hand, neither the 
systems of nature nor grace will warrant us 
in depicting the character of the Deity as 
that of blind benevolence, devoid of rec- 
titude and of moral justice. In nature, 
He is evidently a moral governor, the re- 
warder of virtue and the punisher of vice. 
There is severity as well as mercy discover- 
able in the administration of Providence ; 
a severity which brings down the most tre- 
mendous penalties on those who will not 
conform to the moral laws of nature. 



210 

Now, marks of the same administration 
are clearly discoverable in the gospel, the 
whole scheme of which is built upon the 
mercy and the justice of God, acting in con- 
cert and conjunction. The pardon which 
is offered, is offered to those who truly re- 
pent of their sins ; but the severest denun- 
ciations are held out against the profligate 
and impenitent. Nay, the pardon which is 
granted, is granted through the medium of 
a suffering Redeemer ; and thus, as Bishop 
Porteus beautifully expresses it, " we trem- 
ble at God's justice, even while we are 
within the arms of his mercy." 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 58.] 



211 



SECTION XIII. 

Is it any Objection to Christianity thai it dis~ 
covers to us some new Viezvs of the Divine 
Nature ? 

We have remarked % that, on the supposi- 
tion of any Revelation, it was highly pro- 
bable we should be instructed in some new 
facts relating to the Deity, but which did 
not contradict our previous notions respect- 
ing his goodness, or any of the divine attri- 
butes. It was also observed, that, in all 
probability, these discoveries would be 
made with the utmost plainness, free from 
all metaphysical subtilties, and rendered, in 
some degree, tangible and intelligible by 
their effects. 

Now, that such is the fact Ivith respect 
to Christianity, is evident from considering 
that it is the leading object of this Reve- 
lation to describe the Deity by those r.ela- 

* See Part I, Sect. 2L 
p 2 



212 

lions in which he stands to us, rather than 
by attempting to lay before us his abstract 
and essential nature. As our Father, God 
was indeed, in some degree, the object of 
that worship which was already paid by na- 
tural religion ; but his relation to us, as 
Redeemer and Sanctifier, could not appa- 
rently have been made known to us, but 
through the medium of Christianity. As 
soon as these relations are made known, we 
perceive our obligations to be strictly of a 
moral kind, the whole difference, as Bishop 
Butler remarks, between these relations and 
the former, consisting in this, that the first 
are discoverable by our natural reason, whilst 
the others are not discoverable but by some 
extraordinary Revelation. 

" It is one of the advantages," says Paley, 
" of the Revelations which we acknowledge, 
that whilst they reject idolatry, with its 
many pernicious accompaniments, they in- 
troduce the Deity to human apprehensions 
under an idea more personal, more deter- 
minate, more within its compass, than the 
Theology of nature can do. And this they 
do, by representing Him exclusively under 



213 



the relation in which he stands to ourselves* 
and for the most part, under some plain 
character resulting from that relation, or 
from the history of his providences. This 
method suits the span of our intellect much 
better than the universality which enters 
into the idea of God, as deduced from the 
sources of nature. When, therefore, these 
representations are well founded, in point 
of authority, (for all depends upon that,) 
they afford a condescension to the state of 
our faculties, of which they who have most 
reflected on the subject will be the first to 
acknowledge the want and value." Na- 
tural Theology, ch. 23. p. 448. 

N. B. It is the object of these reflections 
to show that the Scriptures have represented 
God chiefly after a relative manner, not to 
insinuate, in any degree, that the doctrine 
of the Trinity may be understood as im- 
plying nothing more than the relative ma- 
nifestations of the Deity. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 59.] 



p 3 



214 



SECTION XIV. 

Is not the Deity made known to us in Revealed 
Theology, chiefly after a relative and ana- 
logical Manner ? 

We have remarked * that all our concep- 
tions of God, his nature, and his attributes, 
as made known by reason and as described 
in the language of natural religion, are 
symbolic analogies drawn from the reflec- 
tions of our own minds, and from the rela- 
tions in which we stand towards each other, 
and afterwards applied with a partial and 
yet real reference to the Divine perfections. 
Now, the Scriptures have not only adop- 
ted this language of natural theology, by 
commonly speaking of God after a similar 
manner, but Christianity has made use of 
the same relative and symbolical style, in 
those peculiar manifestations of the Deity 
upon which the distinguishing doctrines of 
the Gospel depend. When this Revela- 

* See Part I. Sect. 22. 



215 

tion describes the Godhead as consisting 
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 
Spirit — our Maker, our Redeemer, our 
Sanctifier — it employs the very same style 
which we have already remarked as pre- 
vailing over natural theology, only that this 
style is here rendered still more definite and 
precise. And thus all the offices of Christ 
are described after the same analogical man- 
ner. Whether He is mentioned as the Me- 
diator betwixt God and Man, or as an 
Advocate and Intercessor, our High-Priest, 
our Ransom and propitiatory Sacrifice, still 
there is the same reference to the facts and 
circumstances of human nature. These 
offices and characters are delineated under 
ideas which are borrowed from things be- 
low, and which there are made use of as 
" the patterns of the things in the Heavens. 5 ' 
If there be any force in these remarks, 
they will show how false and frivolous are 
those objections which are frequently brought 
against Christianity for its describing the 
Deity after a figurative and relative manner. 
Had there been no other answer, it would 
have been sufficient to reply, that it makes 

p 4 



216 

use of the very same language as that which 
is employed by natural theology, and that 
it appears to be the only channel by which 
such an imperfect creature as man could 
have been made acquainted with these di- 
vine mysteries. But when we are informed 
by Revelation, that man was made " after 
the image of God/' we can gain something 
like a glimpse into the foundations of this 
sublime philosophy ; we can conceive of 
the truth and reality of that connection be- 
tween things divine and human, on which 
these relative and analogical representations 
depend. 

Query. May we not from such views 
obtain a more clear and philosophic percep- 
tion of the typical representations of the Old 
Testament ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 60,} 



217 



SECTION XV. 

Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its Appointment of a Mediator betwixt 
God and Man ? 

We have remarked, that, on the supposition 
of any Revelation *, the office and character 
of a Mediator seem to be almost necessarily 
implied. How this office and character 
should be supported, it might not be pos- 
sible to determine; but that some medi- 
ation, i. e. the intervention of some superior 
intelligence, should take place, this it seems 
natural to expect in any Revelation of God 
to reasonable beings. 

The same fact is also rendered highly 
probable from the whole course and con- 
struction of nature, in which there is a 
general mediation carried on ; so that we 
derive most of our advantages through the 
instrumentality of others. " There is a 
provision made in nature," says Bishop 

* See Part I, Sect. 23. 



218 

Butler *, " that all the bad consequences of 
a man's actions should not always inevitably 
follow. Persons may do a great deal them- 
selves towards preventing the bad conse- 
quences of their own follies, and still more 
may be done by themselves together with 
the assistance of others, their fellow-crea- 
tures ; which assistance nature requires and 
prompts us to do." 

In confirmation of this reasoning, it has 
been observed, that " the generality of the 
wisest heathens thought it agreeable to rea- 
son to make use of subordinate intelligences, 
demons, or heroes, by whom they put up 
their prayers to the superior gods, hoping, 
that by the mediation of those intercessors, 
the unworthiness of their own persons and 
the defects of their prayers might be sup- 
plied, and that they might obtain such 
merciful and gracious answers to their 
prayers, as they could not presume to hope 
for upon their own account." f 

To grant pardon to sinners through a 
Mediator is also far more humbling, and, 

* See Analogy, Part II. Sect. 5. 

f Clarke's Natural and Revealed Religion, p. 195, 



219 

therefore, more beneficial to the penitent, 
than to grant it immediately to himself. It 
appears also more for the honour of him 
who remits the punishment to remit it 
through the mediation of one who is inno- 
cent, than to grant it at once to the guilty. 
It impresses us with a far livelier notion of 
the exceeding sinfulness of sin, than if we 
had received this pardon simply in answer 
to our prayers. 

Indeed, if men would but look into the 
human mind, and consider the course which 
is generally pursued when one party of very 
inferior rank has given just cause of offence 
to another of superior dignity, they would 
cease to argue against the Christian doctrine 
of mediation, as if it bore no correspond- 
ence to the principles of reason and to the 
ordinary experience of human life. For 
this is the general method in which a recon- 
ciliation is usually effected. And though 
we are ready to grant that these illustrations 
by no means come up to parallel cases ; and 
that there is something in the mediation of 
Christ which far exceeds the range of our 
conceptions ; yet they are sufficient to 



220 

silence all objections to the principle of 
mediation abstractly considered. They ma- 
nifestly point out the connection of this 
doctrine with the ordinary operations of our 
minds ; and though they do not and cannot 
explain this mystery, yet they show that it 
is a mystery which retains a similitude to 
the course and constitution of nature. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 6L] 



221 



SECTION XVI. 

Does not the miraculous Incarnation of Christ, 
in some Degree, correspond to the Miracle 
which must have taken place at the First 
Creation of Man ? 

" Except we believe the world to have 
been eternal," says Ogden, " and the race 
of mankind to have been continued down 
to this day by an infinite succession, without 
any beginning at all ; we must be obliged 
to acknowledge that at least two human 
persons were brought into being in some 
way different from that which is now the 
established course of nature. All persons 
cannot have been born as men are now. 
The Redeemer of mankind, therefore, was 
not the only person who had not two human 
parents. What once was, might be again, 
or something equally different from that 
which is now the object of experience." 
Sermons, vol. i. p. 150. 

N. B. This observation is only intended 
to show, that upon the common principles 



222 

of natural theology, we admit a fact relating 
to the history of man, which bears some 
analogy to the miraculous birth of the 
founder of Christianity, as stated in the 
Scriptures. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 62.2 



228 



SECTION XVII. 



Does not the Mediatorial Character of Christ, 
as drawn in the Scriptures 3 correspond xvith 
the most rational Views which can be enter- 
tained concerning this Office ? 

If we allow the propriety of some Medi- 
ator being appointed between God and 
man, (a supposition which is almost neces- 
sarily included in the idea of any Revela- 
tion*,) it seems impossible for reason to 
suggest, or for imagination to feign, any 
character so complete and appropriate as 
that which is sustained by the Author of 
Christianity as He is represented in the 
New Testament. 

Here is a Being equally related to the 
Divine and the human natures, with power, 
excellence, and dignity, which might render 
his mediation effectual, considered as the 
work of Omnipotence and Independence; 
and yet so identified with those whom he 

• See Parti. Sect. 23- 



224 

came to rescue, that he might sympathise 
with all their infirmities, and be touched with 
the feeling of their wants. Now that this 
character comes up to our notions of a com- 
plete Mediator, is matter of self-evident 
certainty ; and it ought to be allowed to be 
a presumptive argument in its favour. If 
our ignorance of the manner in which this 
conjunction of the Divine with the human 
nature is effected, should be allowed to 
overturn our sentiments of its moral fitness, 
then I apprehend that by a parity of rea- 
soning we ought to become universally 
sceptical, because the " nexus" between 
cause and effect is universally unknown. 
The connection between mind and body is 
at least as mysterious as this connection 
between a supreme and subordinate intel- 
lect, and yet no man doubts of the reality 
of the former. 

The truth is, that upon subjects of this 
spiritual nature, we cannot look for any 
thing beyond moral evidence 3 that we have 
not faculties to discern any thing beyond 
the propriety and fitness of God's dealings 
with mankind. Thus, if the office of a 



225 

Mediator seems to us highly expedient in 
any Revelation ; and if this office appears 
to demand a mutual relationship to God 
and man, it ought not to be urged as any 
objection to Christianity, that we cannot 
comprehend the precise mode in which 
the divine and the human natures are con- 
nected. This objection, if pushed to its 
full extent, is an objection to all our re- 
searches into natural and moral science. 
The evidence which is within our compre- 
hensions is this, that we are in want of such 
a character ; that our necessities appear to 
demand it ; that it implies no direct contra- 
diction ; and that, consequently, it may be 
conceived within the limits of infinite power. 
It is precisely on subjects of this nature 
that it might be supposed we should have 
received some further information by a Di- 
vine Revelation. That mankind have always 
been disposed to feign some intermediate 
beings who might act as their intercessors, 
is a notorious fact ; for it is blended with 
the universal history of idolatry and Poly- 
theism. This fact, to whatever perverted 
consequences it may have led, is also a clear 

Q 



226 

manifestation of the tendencies of the hu- 
man mind. But these tendencies are the 
result of that constitution which hath been 
established by the Author of Nature. If, 
then, the same Author were to republish 
his will in the form of such a Revelation 
as that contained in the Scriptures, is it not 
probable that it would be addressed to those 
tendencies which he had implanted ? 

Nor is that infinite condescension of the 
Deity which is here pre-supposed, any ob- 
jection to the credibility of this doctrine 
respecting a Mediator. There are traces of 
the same condescension, though of far in- 
ferior magnitude, discoverable in all the 
works of Nature. His Providence watches 
over us at every moment. He takes care 
of the smallest insect and of the meanest 
reptile. These are the doctrines of Natural 
as well as of Revealed Theology. Why, 
then, should it seem incredible, if, to ac- 
complish certain great and important pur- 
poses, respecting man's salvation, He should 
have stooped to take our nature upon him ? 
Is it not the noblest picture which we c&n 
form of his love to represent him as the 

12 



227 

Shepherd who came to * seek and to save 
his sheep which were lost ?" Is not there 
a presumptive argument in favour of these 
views of Christianity, arising out of the sen- 
timents of human nature ? If the very hairs 
of our head are numbered ; if not a single 
sparrow falls to the ground unheeded, (truths 
which we may learn from the microscope, 
not less than from the Scriptures,) why 
should we not believe, that if the union of 
the divine with the human nature were ex- 
pedient to save a world of sinners from 
perishing eternally, the same condescension 
might be exerted which Christianity assigns 
to its author ; and which, whether it be true 
or false, must be allowed to be congenial to 
the moral hopes and wishes of mankind ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 63.] 



Q 2 



228 



SECTION XVIII. 

Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from the singular Character of its Founder?* 

If any well-informed man who had never 
heard any thing of the Christian religion, 
were, for the first time, to take up the New 
Testament, the earliest supposition which 
would probably enter into his mind might 
be this — that the character of Jesus, as 
drawn by the Evangelists, was one of pure 
imagination, and entirely fictitious. He 
would conclude, I think, that the whole 
portrait was the result of a splendid and 
romantic fancy ; something like that of 
Cyrus as delineated by Xenophon, or of 
Telemachus, as feigned by Fenelon; and he 
would feel assured, that the writers were 
endued with the most extraordinary powers 
of moral judgment and poetical fancy. 

But if he had sufficient evidence laid 
before him that these writers were totally 
unequal to invent such a character, and if 

* See Part I. Sect 23. 



229 

from numberless coincidences he was ob- 
liged to admit this portrait to have beerl 
drawn from life, then, I think, that previous 
to all minute investigation of the historical 
evidence on which Christianity is founded, 
there would arise in his mind a preposses- 
sion in favour of that religion which had 
drawn its origin from such a unique and 
wonderful personage. 

The truth is this, that amidst all the 
variety of characters which historians and 
poets and philosophers have left us, there is 
not one for real originality which approaches 
to that of Jesus. His divine pretensions ; 
his manner of teaching ; his supernatural 
birth ; his profound knowledge of the hu- 
man mind ; his appeals to prophecy ; his 
elevated morality ; his sublime doctrines 
respecting a future life ; his numerous mi- 
racles ; the accounts of his death, resur- 
rection, and ascent into Heaven : these 
particulars are all set forth with an origin- 
ality, and yet with a plainness and sim- 
plicity, to which there is nothing second or 
similar in the annals of mankind. Let any 
man turn from the Gospels to the Koran, 
0. 3 



230 

and he will perceive the force of these 
observations. 

Now, what we would observe is this, 
that according to the constitution of the 
human mind, we are compelled to view 
such phenomena as collectively forming a 
presumptive argument in favour of Chris- 
tianity. There is a bare possibility, no doubt, 
that all this may have been the result of 
artifice, imposture, and profound duplicity, 
but still, the probability lies on the other 
side, at least it gives that plausibility to 
these pretensions which demands inves- 
tigation. Where there is so much appear- 
ance of truth, we ought not to consider the 
subject as if it were undeserving of a serious 
and candid enquiry. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 64.] 



231 



SECTION XIX. 

Is it not a presumptive Evidence in Favour of 
Christianity that it professes to instruct 
Mankind by the Example of its Founder^ 

as well as by his Precepts ? * 

It has been thought the highest commend- 
ation of history, that it is philosophy teach- 
ing by example ; but it is not a less com- 
mendation of the Gospel, that it is piety 
taught after the same practical and personal 
manner. Christianity is the only religion 
which professes to offer its founder as a 
sinless and faultless pattern for all to imitate ; 
and I think the boldness and originality of 
such a profession, combined with the ac- 
knowledged utility of this mode of instruc- 
tion, supposing it to be real, and the appa- 
rent ease with which it might be detected, 
supposing it to be false, gives it on this 
account alone a fair claim to the attention 
of reflecting men. 

# See Part I. Sect. 24. 
Q 4 



232 

Allowing this pattern of its founder to 
be real, it must be granted to be the most 
striking and effectual of all methods to dis- 
cipline and improve its followers. There 
is, there can be, no authority equal to that 
of the example of the founder of a divine 
religion. This would be true, even if the 
author of Christianity had held no other 
office than that of a teacher sent by God ; 
but when it is connected with his divine 
pretensions, and with his character of a 
suffering Redeemer, one who professed 
;c to die for our sins, and to rise again for 
our justification," then the force of this 
example transcends the utmost limit of our 
conceptions. 

But on the other hand, supposing it to 
be false, it is clearly the most daring and 
venturesome of all impositions; so much so, 
that I never recollect to have heard of any 
impostor who pretended that his life and 
actions were to be taken as an exact tran- 
script of his doctrines, and who proposed 
his own example as the test and criterion 
of his religion. Whilst that humility 
which consists in a sense of our numerous 



233 

imperfections, would prevent an honest man 
from making such presumptuous profes- 
sions ; the shame and terrors of conviction 
would operate to hinder hypocrisy from 
proposing such dangerous claims to inves- 
tigation. 

The faultless perfection which is claimed 
for the life and example of the author of 
Christianity, whether it be true or false, is 
a claim which ought to be investigated. 
If true, it is of inestimable value to human 
virtue, it is the shortest and readiest of all 
methods to eifect the purposes of a reve- 
lation. If false, it admits of plain and pal- 
pable detection. It is such a fair and 
equitable challenge for enquiry, that no 
man can refuse to examine it. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 65.] 



234 



SECTION XX. 

Does not Christianity acquire some Credibility 
from its proposing a Sacrifice and Atone- 
ment for our Sins f 

Since any Revelation, as we have remark- 
ed *, to become suitable and serviceable to 
mankind, must have contained some doc- 
trines relative to sacrifice and atonement, it 
ought to be esteemed a presumptive evi- 
dence in favour of the Christian Revela- 
tion, that it professes to furnish us with 
some extraordinary discoveries on this sub- 
ject. 

" If we consult our natural sentiments," 
says Adam Smith, " we are apt to fear lest, 
before the holiness of God, vice should ap- 
pear to be more worthy of punishment than 
the weakness and imperfection of human 
nature can ever seem to be of reward. 
Man, when about to appear before a being 

* See Part I. Sect. 25. 



235 

of infinite perfection, can feel but little con- 
fidence in his own merit, or in the imper- 
fect propriety of his own conduct. In the 
presence of his fellow-creatures, he may 
often have reason to think highly of his own 
character and conduct, compared to the 
still greater imperfections of others. But 
the case is quite different when about to 
appear before his Infinite Creator. To 
such a being, he can scarce imagine that his 
littleness and weakness should ever seem to 
be the proper object either of esteem or of 
reward. But he can easily conceive how 
the numberless violations of duty, of which 
he has been guilty, should render him the 
object of aversion and punishment. Nei- 
ther can he see any reason why the divine 
indignation should not be let loose without 
any restraint upon so vile an insect as he is 
sensible that he himself must appear to be. 
If he would still hope for happiness, he is 
conscious that he cannot demand it from 
the justice, but that he must entreat it from 
the mercy of God. Repentance, sorrow, 
humiliation, contrition at the thoughts of 
his past conduct, are upon this account the 



236 

sentiments which become him, and seem to 
be the only means which he has left for ap- 
peasing the wrath which he knows he has 
justly provoked. He even distrusts the 
efficacy of all these, and naturally fears lest 
the wisdom of God should not, like the 
weakness of man, be prevailed upon to 
spare the crime by the most importunate 
lamentations of the criminal. Some other 
intercession, some other sacrifice, some other 
atonement, he imagines must be made for 
him beyond what he himself is capable of 
making, before the purity of the divine 
justice can be reconciled to his manifest 
offences. 

" The doctrines of Revelation coincide 
in every respect with these original an- 
ticipations of nature ; and as they teach us 
how little we can depend on the imper- 
fection of our own virtues, so they show 
us, at the same time, that the most power- 
ful intercession has been made, and the 
most dreadful atonement has been paid for 
our manifold transgressions and iniquities." 

Such were the opinions of this eminent 
writer, when he first published his cele- 



237 



brated Theory of Moral Sentiments. (See 
Magee On the Atonement, vol. i. p. 209.) 
They are here cited as affording a fine illus- 
tration of the connection of Christianity 
with the philosophy of the human mind, 
and as pointing out the relation of its sacri- 
ficial doctrines to the principles of reason 
and the suggestions of conscience. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 66.] 



238 



SECTION XXL 

Is not the Doctrine of Spiritual Assistance? 
as contained in the Scriptures, upon the 
whole, congenial to the Sentiments of Rea- 
son? 

That good men are under the more imme- 
diate influence and protection of the Su- 
preme, and that our minds, not less than 
our bodies, are under the care of a super- 
intending Providence, has been the sup- 
port and persuasion of piety in all ages.* 
The most unlettered savage, who prays to 
God, virtually takes for granted in his 
prayers this doctrine of spiritual co-ope- 
ration. 

All that is peculiar to Christianity, on 
this subject, consists in its attributing such 
aid and assistance to the more immediate 
agency of the Holy Spirit, instead of 
leaving it, as in Natural Theology, to come 
from the Deity, as known to us by nature. 
But this, since it depends on a disco- 

* See Part I. Sect. 26. 



239 

very peculiar to Revelation, can form no 
difficulty whatever as to the doctrine itself; 
for if we admit the fact, that the minds of 
good men are under a divine influence, what 
difficulty can there be in confining this in- 
fluence to a particular character of the Deity, 
which could not have been discovered by 
reason ? 

Upon the supposition of any Revelation, 
it is clear that some discoveries would be 
made known to us, which we could not 
have gained from Natural Theology ; and 
it is also probable, as we have remarked, 
that some of these discoveries would relate 
more immediately to the Deity. If, then, 
the doctrine of spiritual aid be a doctrine 
of natural religion, what could be more 
likely, that in the event of such Revelation, 
this doctrine would have been confirmed 
with greater force, and delineated with 
greater exactness ? 

On this head, Christianity has made the 
smallest possible deviation from the senti- 
ments of natural reason. It is not a change 
of doctrine, but a discovery of the mode in 
which this doctrine is brought down to us. 



240 

A religious theist believes, that when he 
prays to God in affliction, he may derive 
help and consolation from the Author of his 
being. He believes that his virtues may be 
aided and strengthened by a divine influ- 
ence. The Christian acknowledges the same 
doctrine; but he attributes this aid more 
immediately to the Holy Spirit. Revelation 
has thus gathered up the scattered fragments 
of natural faith ; and has formed them into 
an edifice of higher beauty, of juster propor- 
tions, and of more solid stability. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 67»] 



241 



SECTION XXII. 

Is there not some Connection discoverable be~ 

tween the Sufferings of Christ and those 

ordinary Dealings of Providence which 

show that Adversity is the School of moral 

Excellence ? 

It is the doctrine of Scripture *that there 
was a certain propriety and fitness in those 
trials which Jesus underwent as the high 
priest and captain of our salvation, that it 
became him to pass through a suffering, ra- 
ther than a triumphant road, in his progress 
as the author and finisher of our faith. 
Now, as the fitness must have arisen from 
his relation to us, and not abstractedly on 
his own account, it may be allowed us, with 
all humility, to enquire wherein He was thus 
made conformable to his brethren. 

This conformability to human nature is 
discoverable, I apprehend, in the general 
principle that suffering and adversity is the 

* SeeHeb. ch.ii, v. 10 -18, 



242 

school of moral excellence ; " and that, as 
" the race of mankind being intended for 
" a higher station amongst the works of 
" their Creator, are trained up for it by the 
" trials and troubles of which the world is 
" full ; so also many a particular person, 
" whom God hath designed to raise up in 
" the present life to an extraordinary de- 
" gree of greatness, has in the wisdom of 
" his providence, been exercised by a series 
" of afflictions as remarkable as that ad- 
" vancement to which they have conducted 
" him." * 

It has been the observation of moralists 
in all ages, that some of the worthiest and 
best of mankind have passed through scenes 
of remarkable trial and suffering. " If the 
" Jews," says Bishop Leng f , " would have 
" consulted their own scriptures impartially, 
" they might have known, that many of 
" their own prophets and holy men, whom 
" they acknowledged to have been messen- 
" gers of God, were men of suffering and 
"grievously persecuted, sometimes even to 

* Ogden's Sermons, vol. I. p. 192. 
f Sermon XVI. p. 485—487. 



243 

" death ; and farther, they might have 
" known, from these very prophets who 
" foretold his coming, that he was to be a 
" man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 
" This, therefore, ought not to have offend- 
" ed them. The Gentiles might have 
" learned, from some of their most esteemed 
" philosophers, that outward pomp and 
" greatness, power and riches of the world, 
" are rather to be despised than admired, by 
" a truly great man : that no good man is 
" the less beloved of God for being placed 
" in a state of poverty and contempt, as 
" Epictetus and other excellent persons 
" aver ; or for being hated and put to death 
" by their fellow-citizens, as Socrates, one 
"' of the brightest instances of heathen vir- 
" tue : that the most eminent examples, and 
" such as were fittest to teach and reform 
" the world, had been tried in the furnace 
" of affliction : that misery and suffering is 
" so far from being inconsistent with the 
" greatest virtue and goodness, that, accord- 
" ing to Plato's reasoning, to make the cha- 
" racter of a truly righteous man, he must 
" be stript of all things in the world, even of 
r 2 



244 

" the credit and reputation of being righteous, 
" because, if he be thought a just person by 
" the world, honour and worldly advantage 
" will be his portion ; and then it cannot be 
" known whether it be real virtue, or the ad- 
" vantages of it, which he pursues ; he must, 
" therefore, be reckoned wicked and unjust, 
" while he retains the strictest justice and 
66 integrity unshaken, even to death; and then 
" the consequence will be, that such a just 
66 man will be exposed to all manner of ill 
" treatment and suffering ; and at last will be 
"put to a cruel death, or crucified" * 
If the founder of Christianity had been 

* Tov Vikoujov Ig-cupev tcq koyco, aytga. u7r\8V x, yevvctiov, 
xa? Al<%6\ov, » Soxiiv aAX* avaj ctyo&ov s^sKovto., 'A<pct{- 
gsreov ty to Soxafv, si yap lo%ei $Ucli& &va{, ttrovlcu aurco 
Tipcii x, Saigsou, toxsvli TOiaTW elvou* «6>)Aoi/ sv sirs tov dmetia, 
sire twv tioogeabv rs x, tjju.gov evexet 9 Toidr®* enj* yv^voirs^ dvj 
vraLvrm, -srA^v dixouovuvYis, x, woHjIe®' hvoa/llcos dictxsi(j,sv& 
roo iffgjlegop (jxllxw sc.) fjujtiev yoip aS<xowv, oofav ipgercB t^v 
/xsyjpjv Mttda? %v J /3e£ao"at/iCju,£V® / e»£ Sjxajocrvwjv t«J 
pj Tey/WSa* wro xaxo$o%lct$, x, twv uV auT% ydvopsvcov 
aXX' rjTa> ajxslas-al^ ju<sxg« Savors* SoxaJy jaev elva* a&x(§^ 
£»a /3/b, a>v 8s S/xai^ — IgScn Ss TaSs on ovla) foctxsl- 
lhsv& 6 S/xai©' fut$-iya)<T sr ou, rgs£\w<rsrcti, de$Y}o~sToti, ixxat« 
Qyigstou ra» 'tpQctXpw* rsXsvrw, txclvIol xolkoL -nradcov, ava%ivoV 
Agy^o-srai. Plato, de Repub. lib. 2, p. 361. vol. ii. edit. 
Serrani. 



245 

in a lofty rather than a humble situation* 
his example could not have possessed these 
extensively moral benefits which it is now 
calculated to impress : his precepts respect- 
ing humility and contentment, and resig- 
nation towards God, would have lost mudi 
of their force had they not been inculcated 
by one " who knew not where to lay his 
head." 

Lastly, had the author of Christianity 
been distinguished by his outward pomp 
and dignity, the success of his religion 
might, perhaps, in some degree, have been 
attributable to these external endowments ; 
at least, infidelity would have had a plausi- 
ble ground of argument in such distinctions. 

Had Christianity been ushered into the 
world by one distinguished for warlike or 
ambitious achievements, it would have 
failed of producing the most important pur- 
poses of a Divine Revelation. Instead of 
impressing its followers with the vanity of 
terrestrial glory, it would have fired them 
with all those aspiring incentives to which 
mankind were already so much inclined. 
Instead of teaching them to look forward 

K 3 



246 

to eternity, it would have made them de- 
sirous to emulate their leader by the pur- 
suits of conquest and ambition. A religion 
of this kind would probably have risen and 
fallen with those political changes which 
had accompanied its first existence ; or, like 
Mahometanism, it would demand the assist- 
ance of political despotism to uphold it, 
whereas the strength of Christianity con- 
sists in its moral grandeur. The suffering 
character of its founder possesses more real 
influence on the heart, than if he had 
wielded the sceptre of Rome, or had over- 
run the world with his arms. Does not this 
suffering character of the author of Chris- 
tianity evince the close connection of our 
religion with the principles of the human 
mind? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 68.] 



247 



SECTION XXIII. 

Does not the Christian Doctrine of the Re- 
surrection of the Body confirm our natural 
Sentiments respecting the frnmortality of 
the Soul? 

The great doctrine of Natural Theology *, 
being that on which all its force and im- 
portance depends, is the immortality of the 
soul and the continuance of our existence 
as the same beings after death. How 
eagerly this doctrine was maintained, and 
yet how dubiously it was proved, may be 
seen in the writings of the ancient philoso- 
phers. Cicero himself appears to have 
clung to it rather as a wish and a hope, 
than as a point of moral certainty, whilst it 
was often derided by the more licentious, 
as a mere device and fiction of legislators 
to preserve the order of society. 

What was the great difficulty which ren- 
dered all the ancient arguments for the 

* See Part I. Sect. 27- 
R 4 



248 



soul's immortality so dark and inconclusive? 
Why, it was plainly this, — they proceeded 
on the supposition that the body was lost 
for ever. Now, since man was made up of 
body and soul, they could not but appre- 
hend lest the separation of these component 
parts of his nature might endanger his en- 
tire constitution, or at least might affect his 
personal identity. 

And this apprehension seems to be too 
well founded to admit of any satisfactory 
reply. If all our joys and sufferings come 
to us in the present life through the medium 
of our senses ; if human nature be not a 
merely spiritual substance, but a spirit asso- 
ciated with a material vehicle, then it can 
never be shown that this connection may 
not be essential to our existence ; and that 
if this connection be dissolved, we may not 
perish therewith. The same apprehension 
' will apply with still greater force to the be- 
lief of a state of future retribution, wherein 
we are supposed to suffer or enjoy according 
to the deeds done in the body. 

Now, these great and apparently insuper- 
able difficulties have been altogether re- 



249 

moved by the discoveries of Christianity 
respecting the resurrection of the body. By 
this doctrine, the belief of the immortality 
of the soul has been established on the most 
sure and satisfactory grounds. It is esta- 
blished, not by metaphysical speculations, 
but by a conjunction of time with eternity ; 
by asserting that we shall exist hereafter in 
the same component condition as we do at 
present ; that death is but a temporary 
separation of mind and body ; and that 
when this separation is at an end, we shall 
live after the same manner that we now do. 
Consequently death is a mere interval like 
sleep ; and the reunion of our minds and 
bodies assures us of our personal identity. 

Considered as a mere hypothesis, there 
is something of credibility in this doctrine 
of the resurrection of the body ; because it 
is plainly the only sufficient hypothesis 
whereon to found our hopes of the immor- 
tality of the soul, and of a state of future 
rewards and punishments. Had it been de- 
livered only as an article of faith, I think, 
that it would have been highly deserving of 
the attention of mankind. But in a point of 



250 

such vital importance to our happiness, 
Christianity hath furnished us with facts 
and examples to confirm our belief. The 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul is 
now to be considered rather as a matter of 
hktovy than of speculation. The same evi- 
dence which applies to the miracles of Jesus 
in raising individuals from the dead, and 
the great and overwhelming evidence of 
his own resurrection, bearing in all their 
force upon this leading article of Natural 
Theology. 

It becomes every rational Deist, on his 
own principles, to examine most seriously 
into the proofs of a Religion which thus 
offers to establish the immortality of the 
soul on the only sure foundation on which 
it can rest, viz. upon that of fact and ex- 
ample ; and which furnishes us with the only 
sufficient principles on which our personal 
identity can depend, viz. upon our restor- 
ation to those corporeal substances with 
which our minds are here associated. Who- 
ever is desirous to place the leading doc- 
trines of Natural Theology on a sure and 
solid basis, cannot refuse to examine with 

l 5 



251 

the most scrupulous attention into facts 
which, if true, put an end to the doubts of 
philosophy ; and which, even if false, would 
furnish us with the only reasonable hypo- 
thesis on which to build a probable belief 
of our continuing to exist as the same 
beings in a future state. 

Query 1st. Have not these arguments 
received considerable illustration from the 
many successful attempts at restoring sus- 
pended animation ? See the Sermons 
preached before the Humane Society, par- 
ticularly the masterly discourse of Bishop 
Horsley, vol. iii. semi. 39. 

Query 2d. Was it not the object of 
Christ's descent into a place of separate 
spirits, whilst his body remained in the 
grave ; and of his visible ascent into heaven, 
to accomplish the whole circuit of human 
existence, so as to render him a complete 
prototype of human nature, under all its 
circumstances of death and resurrection, and 
exaltation to endless life and happiness ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 69. J 



252 



SECTION XXIV. 



Are not the Doctrines of Christianity, respect- 
ing the Day of Judgment and of eternal 
Rewards and Punishments, in close Corre- 
spondence with those of Natural Theo- 
logy t * 

The general conviction that we shall be 
happy or miserable in another life, accord- 
ingly as we have conducted ourselves well 
or ill in the present, has been the persua- 
sion of mankind at large in all ages. This 
belief is essential to the welfare and order 
of society ; it is the foundation of all laws 
whether human or divine, and has therefore 
been received by legislators into their codes 
of public jurisprudence, and by moralists 
into their treatises of ethics and of natural 
theology. 

All that is peculiar to the Christian Re- 
velation on this subject, consists in its 
asserting that there shall be a day of judg- 

* See Part I. Sect. 28. 



253 

ment wherein men shall be visibly con- 
demned or absolved by the Son of God, 
and that this judgment shall take place im- 
mediately at the end of the world. " Rea- 
son did," says Butler, " as it might well 
conclude, that it should finally and upon the 
whole be well with the righteous and ill 
with the wicked ; but it could not be deter- 
mined on any principles of reason, whether 
human creatures might not have been ap- 
pointed to pass through other states of life 
and being, before that distributive justice 
should finally and effectually take place. 
Revelation teaches us that the next state of 
things after the present is appointed for the 
execution of this justice, and that it shall 
be no longer delayed." 

The doctrine of eternal rewards and 
punishments is also strictly belonging to 
natural religion ; both the moralists and the 
poets of antiquity describing them in lan- 
guage which is wonderfully similar to that 
which is made use of in the Scriptures. 
The only addition made by Revelation, 
arises out of its discovery of the resurrection 
of the body, by which it asserts that we 



254 

shall suffer and enjoy hereafter, in those 
corporeal substances which we now possess. 
This renders the doctrine of Natural Theo- 
logy more plain and intelligible, but it is 
rather a more exact delineation of the same 
principles, than a representation of what 
is altogether new and original. 

Hence we deem it quite unnecessary to 
reply to any of the modern objections 
which have been urged against eternal 
punishments, because they are objections 
which apply to Christianity on a point in 
which it is strictly in unison with the pre- 
vious opinions of legislators and moralists, 
and which, if allowed to be valid, would 
affect the interests of Natural not less than 
those of Revealed Religion. 

Query. Is it not an instance of gross 
partiality in our reasonings, that so many 
have objected to the threatenings of eternal 
punishments, whilst they have readily be- 
lieved in the promises of eternal rewards ? 

[See Notes and Illtistrations, No. 70.] 



255 



SECTION XXV. 



Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its Doctrine respecting the Future 
Destruction of the World ? * 

By all who believe that our world was not 
self-created nor eternal, it must be received 
at least as a probable hypothesis that it 
shall not last for ever ; and the same hypo- 
thesis is rendered still farther credible from 
the observations of certain natural pheno- 
mena, which may incline us to think that 
our earth may possibly contain within itself 
the elements of its own dissolution. 

Nor, if we consult our moral sentiments, 
does it appear at all probable that a state of 
moral trial and probation should be in- 
tended to last through all eternity, but 
rather that when the purposes of such a 
preparatory scene are fulfilled, the world 
should pass away with the occasion for 
which it was originally created. There is 
the greatest abstract improbability, that any 
race of intelligent beings should multiply 
indefinitely throughout all ages. 

* See Part I, Sect, 27 and 28, 



256 



And when we reflect that human know- 
ledge, however progressive, must have its 
bounds and limits, and that there is a point 
beyond which our faculties in their present 
situation could make no discoveries, it ap- 
pears as if whenever this summit of know- 
ledge and civilization should be attained, 
that no further end could be answered by 
the prolongation of the world's existence, 
In such a state, the improvableness of hu- 
man reason could find no scope for action, 
and since it could not remain stationary, it 
would take a retrograde direction. But to 
suppose mankind in such a situation, is 
revolting to our conceptions of providential 
wisdom. When the earth is peopled up to 
its fullest capacity, there will be a stop put 
to all further improvement in civilization.* 

To this observation we may also add the 
common sentiments of mankind, that the 
world would come to an end, which opinion 
seems generally to have obtained amongst the 
ancients, particularly amongst the Stoics, who 
borrowed it from the older system of He- 

* See Sumner's Records of the Creation, vol. ii. ch. 5. 

to 



251 

Taclitus. It would be difficult indeed to 
establish any system of natural theology 
which did not either formally or tacitly 
admit of this doctrine ; for if there is to be 
a time when all men are to be judged ac- 
cording to their works, this time, according 
to the universal belief of mankind, will take 
place at the consummation of this prepa- 
ratory scene, which is but a temporary 
scaffolding for eternity. 

Query. Is there not some further confirm- 
ation of this doctrine to be derived from 
the nature of those minerals and fossils 
which are either not re-produced, or at 
least not in sufficient quantities to bear an 
indefinite consumption ? From the present 
state of our knowledge on this subject, 
is it not justifiable to conclude, (however 
some may smile at the remark,) that the 
time may arrive when the earth would be 
disemboweled of all those treasures which 
now conduce to the well-being of man- 
kind? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 69.] 



258 



SECTION XXVL 

Are the Mysteries of Christianity any Ar- 
gument agai?ist its Credibility? 

It has been remarked * of a Revelation in 
general, that it would in all probability 
contain some doctrines superior to reason, 
and that no religion which was entirely 
devoid of mysteries would be suited to the 
state of our faculties. If these remarks be 
well founded there can be no presumption, 
on abstract principles, against the occur- 
rence of some mysterious doctrines. The 
objection can be urged only against the pe- 
culiarities which belong to those mysteries 
which are brought forward by Christianity. 
Now first, it should be considered, how 
little we can form any abstract opinion on 
a subject of such obscurity. If it be granted 
that we are likely to meet with some mys- 
teries in any Revelation of God to man, 
might it not have been foreseen that our 

* See Part I. Sect. 21 and 29. 



259 



knowledge and apprehensions concerning 
these mysteries would have been extremely 
limited and imperfect ? 

We are willing to grant however that no 
degree of force should bring us to admit 
of any mysteries which are plainly contra- 
dictory to reason, or which would authorize 
any extravagance of moral conduct; but 
after these exceptions, I know not that we 
should be justified in rejecting any Reve- 
lation on account of the mysterious doc- 
trines which it might contain. 

Still there are some particulars which 
might reasonably be looked for, even on 
this dark and obscure subject, and which, 
if they answered to our expectations, might 
be viewed as presumptive arguments to 
recommend a particular Revelation to our 
attention. 

First, Such mysteries should belong to 
those parts of the Revelation which were 
necessarily beyond our apprehensions. They 
should have respect to the divine nature 
and operations, not to those plain and prac- 
tical duties which concern our conduct. 
Secondly, They should not be merely ab- 
s 2 



260 



stract mysteries, but also serve as moral 
incentives., so that their utility in the latter 
respect might recommend them to our 
belief in the former. Now, let it be fairly 
considered, whether the mysterious doc- 
trines of Christianity do not correspond 
with both these particulars, and whether, 
on this account, they may not be fairly 
viewed as evidences in favour of the Chris- 
tian Revelation ; or at least, whether they 
do not neutralize all objections which might 
be urged abstractly against mysterious doc- 
trines in general ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations^ No. 72.1 



261 



SECTION XXVII. 

Are the Positive Institutions of Christianity 
any Argument against its Credibility ? 

The nature of man, as we have remarked *, 
requiring some positive institutions in any 
Revelation which might have been possibly 
given by God, there can be no presumption 
against the positive institutions of Chris- 
tianity, but such as arise from their peculiar 
nature. 

If from reason we might venture to lay 
down any probable rule concerning these 
appointments, we might perhaps make the 
following anticipation, " that they would 
be few and simple, such as might be ob- 
served in all countries, and such as should 
carry with them a strong moral and religious 
obligation." 

Now, that the positive institutions of 
Christianity fully realize these anticipations, 
there can be no dispute. In number they 
are but two. The one initiatory, on our 

* See Part I. Sect. 30. 

s 3 



becoming members of the Christian church; 
the other commemorative, being designed to 
remind us of that sacrifice and atonement, 
on which our hopes of salvation are founded. 

Let any man sit down to imagine insti- 
tutions more simple, more affecting than 
these. That upon becoming members of 
a religion, we should receive some badge, 
some token of our new profession, this 
cannot be deemed unnatural or unlikely, 
because something of the kind usually 
occurs upon entering into any corporate 
body or community. It is no other than 
the indentures of our service. We then enter 
into a formal covenant to live according to 
the laws, the doctrines, and the hopes of 
our religion. 

The other appointment is founded on 
the sacrificial character of the Christian dis- 
pensation. It reminds us of our being not 
in a state of innocence, but in that of peni- 
tence. But this, as we have remarked, is the 
only treatment which is suited to our pre- 
sent convictions. Can any institution have 
a closer relation to the wants and feelings 
of our nature ? 



268 

At the same time? it must be allowed, 
that there is a fine originality in this com- 
memoration of the death of Jesus. No 
other founder of a religion has desired to 
be remembered chiefly by his followers for 
dying a painful and ignominious death. 
Yet how simple and how sublime is the 
moral of such an institution. It is a;t once 
the essence of faith and of practice. It 
teaches us that we cannot be saved by our 
own merits, but that we must rely on the free 
mercy of God. It discovers to us the ex- 
ceeding sinfulness of sin, the holiness and 
justice of Him who would not pardon with- 
out this tremendous sacrifice. It teaches 
us to live like those who are in a state of 
trial and penitential suffering, to regard 
the world chiefly as a state of moral disci- 
pline and probation. But these are the 
views of natural as well as of revealed reli- 
gion, and he who would scoff at them 
when taught by the Gospel, should also 
deride them when inculcated by moralists. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 73.] 

s 4 



264 



SECTION XXVIIL 



Is not the System of Christianity delivered 
like that of Nature, as dependent on the 
Will and Power of God $ 

In a former chapter *, we have remarked* 
that in all our enquiries into moral or phy- 
sical science, we must argue upon things as 
they are, not upon ideal suppositions how 
the world might have been possibly con- 
structed. We have faculties which enable 
us, by patient investigation, to draw up a 
tolerable history of facts. These facts are 
entirely dependent on the will of God ; and 
when we have ascertained their existence^ 
we must rest upon this foundation, as the 
ground-work of all philosophy. 

Now, it is no little confirmation of re- 
vealed religion, that it proceeds exactly 
upon the same principles. We are not in- 
formed, by the Scriptures, whether the world 
could not have been saved, if it had pleased 

* See Part I. Sect. 31. 



God, by some other method than the death 
and sufferings of Jesus. What is asserted, 
is the propriety, the jitness of this method 
as it relates to mankind. There is no limit 
assigned to the abstract power of God, but 
there is a limit placed to the researches and 
enquiries of man. This limit, in natural 
and moral science, as well as in revealed 
theology, consists in confining our atten- 
tion to things as they are ; in tracing out the 
actual systems both of nature and of grace ; 
and then in leaving them to depend on the 
will and wisdom of the Supreme. 

Hence, in laying down the doctrines of 
Christianity, it becomes us to state them as 
historical facts (see Part I. ch. 33), or as 
natural phenomena, not to assert that they 
arise out of fixed and immutable necessity. 
It has pleased God to give us those faculties 
which we now possess, and to place us in a 
world which is suited and adapted to these 
faculties. Had it seemed good to him, both 
our faculties and situations might have been 
totally different : but this is not a subject of 
rational enquiry, or which can lead to any 
sure and useful information. So, likewise, it 



266 

has pleased God to manifest his love towards 
mankind, by sending his son into the world 
to die as a sacrifice and atonement for our 
sins. It is here also possible, that he might 
have adopted some other method, if his 
sovereign power and wisdom had been dif- 
ferently exerted. But these are not en- 
quiries within the range of our limited 
faculties. It is our wisdom to examine into 
facts as they now exist ; for, as Butler has 
remarked, " the enquiry, what would have 
followed if God had not done as he has, 
may have in it some great impropriety, and 
ought not to be carried any farther than is 
necessary to help our partial and inadequate 
conceptions of things." 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 74.] 



267 



SECTION XXIX. 

Is not the Evidence of Christianity the most 
powerful and comprehensive which can be 
addressed to the Human Mind ? 

The evidence of the Christian Revelation is 
made up both of historical facts and of 
moral arguments. It thus combines the 
abstract associations of natural theology 
with the peculiar advantages of a revealed 
and historical dispensation. 

Now, this connection of natural with tra- 
ditional theology, necessarily brings to the 
Christian Revelation the most compre- 
hensive and universal evidence which can 
be laid before the mind. It is the evi- 
dence which belongs both to history and 
to moral science ; it appeals equally to 
our hearts and to our understandings ; 
it is either a detail of facts, which have 
been recorded by others, or it is a series 
of moral convictions addressed to our 



26S 

own consciences. The combination of 
these two kinds of evidence, forms the 
strongest proof which we are capable of 
receiving, on all subjects which do not admit 
of strict mathematical demonstration. 

That this conjunction of abstract with 
historical evidence exhausts the whole ca- 
pacity of our minds, is plain from the re- 
flection, that all our faculties are either 
moral or intellectual. It is to the former, 
chiefly, that what are called the internal 
proofs of Christianity are addressed ; whilst 
its external evidence appeals to those intel- 
lectual powers by which the whole fabric of 
human knowledge has been reared. ] 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 75.] 



269 



SECTION XXX. 

Are not the peculiar Evidences of Christianity 
the strongest Confirmation of Natural Theo- 
logy ? * 

The two great articles of natural theology 
are the existence of God and the superin- 
tendance of Providence over the world. 
The regular and established course of na- 
ture has always been the chief strong-hold 
of those who doubted or denied the exist- 
ence of an intelligent mind. They were 
disposed to refer the regularity of these na- 
tural operations to fixed fate and immutable 
necessity ; and though their pretences had 
often been refuted, yet still the appearance 
of this regularity always kept up amongst 
the ancients a considerable number of athe- 
istical sceptics. 

Now, it was the effect of miracles, by 
breaking through this regularity, to show 
that an active and intelligent being pre- 

* See Part I. Sect. 45. 



210 

sided over nature ; and the same evidence, 
which carries down to us the record of these 
miracles, must always assure us of this im- 
portant truth. It establishes the personality 
of the Deity on a sure and indisputable basis ; 
for it shows that neither mechanism nor 
fate, nor chance, can exclude the Almighty 
Mind from the command of the universe. 

A similar observation will also apply to 
the doctrine of a Providence, a doctrine 
which connects the Creator with his works, 
and yet which had been denied by many of 
the ancient theists. Now, prophecy is a 
direct proof of such superintendance in the 
affairs of the world ; and though it had been 
of no other advantage, it would have been 
an invaluable evidence of natural theology. 

Query 1. May we not hence account, upon 
moral principles, for the astonishing success 
of Christianity on its first promulgation ? 

2. Do not the universal pretences to pro- 
phecy amongst Pagans, show that it might 
naturally be expected to form a leading 
evidence in any Divine Revelation ? 



[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 76.] 



271 



SECTION XXXI. 



Has not Christianity all the Essentials of a 



Universal Religion ? * 



It would no doubt have been a great argu- 
ment against the truth of the Christian Re- 
velation, if the obstacles which prevent its 
becoming universally prevalent, were such as 
arose out of the confined nature of its prin- 
ciples and genius. But since they are no 
other than such as prevent the universal 
diffusion of natural theology, and the pro- 
motion of learning and civilization amongst 
all the nations of the earth, the objection, if 
it be urged at all, will apply not so much to 
the Christian Revelation in particular, as 
to the whole government of Providence. 

What is it which prevents the universal 
spread of our religion ? " Is it that God 
may not be everywhere worshipped under 
this dispensation ? Is it that all men are 
not interested in its general principles, or 

* See Part I. Sect. 34, 



272 

that its duties do not extend to all ; or that 
it is not adapted to the principles of our 
nature, nor calculated to extend our happi- 
ness and comfort ? Or is it loaded with a 
number of positive institutions which are 
adapted only to local situations ?" * No, 
not one of these imputations can be fairly 
urged against Christianity. It is restrained 
only by the barbarism and ignorance of 
mankind. If all the nations of the world 
were in the same state of moral civilization 
with Great Britain, can any one doubt 
whether Christianity would not naturally 
spread itself from pole to pole? Could 
you make the same assertions of Mahomet- 
anism, or of any other religion which hath 
ever appeared amongst men ? 

There are some other presumptions re- 
lating to a universal religion, which are also 
to be found in Christianity. It seems pro- 
bable that such a religion should have com- 
menced with the beginning of the world ; 
that it should always have been in the 
world, and that it should be intended to 

* See Watson's Evidences of Christianity, Part II. ch. 5. 



273 

last to its conclusion. Now, this is true of 
Christianity when it is viewed in connection 
with Judaism, and if the assertions of its 
founder respecting the fortunes of his 
church are to be at all accredited. There 
is also a probability that such a religion 
would be published immediately by divine 
authority ; and that it would rest upon the 
same influence as that of nature, and pro- 
ceed in unison with the government of Pro- 
vidence. But this also is true of Christi- 
anity, if it be indeed that Revelation which 
it professes to be. 

The mere continuance of Christianity for 
so many hundred years, and its progress 
amongst so many nations of diversified 
characters and manners, is no slight proof 
of it being intended for a universal dispen- 
sation. Until there shall be an example of 
some nation highly civilized and well in- 
structed in the doctrines of natural religion, 
living under a free government, and enjoying 
intercourse with this part of Europe, who 
shall be able to withstand the moral and 
historical evidences of our religion, the 

T 



274 

whole force of inductive reasoning will re- 
main in favour of our argument. 

If, indeed, the hopes of philosophy are 
ever to be realized, and the whole human 
race shall attain to the blessings of order 
and civilization, how are these advantages 
to be effected but by the diffusion of com- 
mercial and civil knowledge? And is it 
not probable that this knowledge will be 
chiefly promoted by means of those nations 
which are already Christians ? But, if so, 
the knowledge of Christianity will go hand 
in hand with the progress of civilization. 
Now, this is not only a probability founded 
upon abstract reasoning, but one which is 
in some degree founded on past experience, 
and warranted by the present appearance of 
the world. Is it not thus that the blessings 
of knowledge and civilization have been 
gradually imported from Europe to Ame- 
rica? 

Whatever has been the chief method by 
which mankind have hitherto been im- 
proved in social order, and brought into an 
acquaintance with their moral and religious 



275 

duties, it is highly probable that the same 
method will still continue to advance them 
in the same blessings. Now, that Christi- 
anity has hitherto been the chief channel 
of diffusing these advantages, there can be 
no dispute ; and it will accordingly follow 
that we are to look to this religion for the 
consummation of our hopes hereafter. 

Query. Is it not probable that the dif- 
fusion both of Christianity and of useful 
knowledge and civilization, will take place 
chiefly by means of colonies sent out by the 
nations of Europe ? Is not the discovery of 
the real principle of population a step to- 
wards awakening this spirit of colonization 
amongst us ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 77*1 



T c 2 



276 



SECTION XXXIL 

Does not Christianity profess to be a Reve- 
lation designed for the Benefit of the whole 
World? 11 ' 

Although the considerations which have 
been already urged seem sufficient to show 
the universal nature of the Christian reli- 
gion, yet it may be proper to show that 
this dispensation is unlimited, even whilst 
its knowledge is but partially diffused, and 
its temporal benefits extended only to a 
small proportion of mankind. 

Now, that the language of Christianity 
admits of the most wide and universal in- 
terpretation, may be seen from the follow- 
ing arguments : First, Its author is described 
as " the Lamb slain from the foundation of 
the world," as " having given himself a 
ransom for all," as " having tasted death 
for all men." He is styled " the Propitia- 
tion for our sins, and not for ours only, but 

* See Part I. Sect. 34. 



211 

for those of the whole world." His death 
is described as being of equal extent with 
the universal evils arising from the Fall; 
and he must often have suffered, it is ar- 
gued, since the foundation of the world, 
had not his atonement been of inestimable 
and unlimited importance. 

Secondly, The strongest proof of this 
universality arises out of the character of 
the founder of Christianity, as " the Medi- 
ator between God and man ;" and from the 
office which He will discharge over all, as 
" the Judge of quick and dead." This being 
a doctrine admitted by all Christians, there 
is no appeal from its consequences. If Jesus 
is to be the judge of all men, then it is in 
the highest degree improbable that the 
whole human race is not in some way or 
other connected with Him as a Redeemer. 
The same conclusion will also arise from 
those passages of Scripture in which we are 
directed " to pray for all men," " to love 
and to honour all men." 

Let any candid deist consider, whether 
it can be fair to object against a religion 
which contains such universal doctrines ; as 

t 3 



278 

if it were limited, and partial, and confined 
to a few ? Whether he believes in Christi- 
anity or no, as a Divine Revelation, he 
must admit that these doctrines are laid 
down in the New Testament ; and that, 
therefore, it deserves that prepossession in 
its favour which naturally arises out of its 
professing to be inteiided for the benefit of 
all mankind. 

Query. Has there any other religion 
ever appeared in the world which has made 
the same universal professions ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations 5 No. 78.] 



279 



SECTION XXXIIL 

Are the Divisions or the Vices of Christians 
to be esteemed any Argument against the 
Truth of our Religion ? * 

Since it was not only probable but certain, 
that, according to the present constitution of 
human nature, whatever Revelation might 
be afforded, it would be subject to the same 
variety of moral dispositions and intellec- 
tual talents which are employed about the 
ordinary affairs of the world, it cannot be 
equitable to urge that as an objection against 
the truth of Christianity, which arises solely 
out of the state and condition of human 
nature. 

How was it possible to prevent many 
differences of opinion respecting any dis- 
pensation of. God to man, unless all our 
talents and capacities had been reduced to 
the same level, or unless that variety which 
is one of the leading features of nature, had 

* See Part I. Sect. 35. and 36. 
T 4 



280 

oeen entirely abolished ? Is not Revelation, 
in this respect, in the same situation as na- 
tural theology ? Is it not chiefly in the 
theory of both that these difficulties occur ? 
Are the divisions which subsist amongst 
Christians more numerous than those which 
occur amongst philosophers ? or would it be 
fair to argue against philosophy itself, be- 
cause there is such a variety of sects and 
opinions in the learned world ? 

If all Christians had thought exactly alike 
on the subject of their religion, there would 
have been little or no scope for the exercise 
of moral candour and of mutual forbear- 
ance. There would not have been the same 
motives for diligence and curiosity, and 
for investigating the grounds of our own 
opinions. This uniformity would neither 
have corresponded to the appearances of hu- 
man life, nor have elicited human talents, 
nor tended to increase our knowledge or 
virtue. 

As to the vices of many who profess to 
believe in Christianity, they are no more 
chargeable on Revelation than the vices of 
others who believe onlv in the doctrines of 



281 

natural religion are to be charged upon the 
principles of rational theism. " There is, 
I fear," says Ogden, " yet one more cir- 
cumstance in which the Christian Revela- 
tion and the religion of nature bear to each 
other, unhappily, but too near a resem- 
blance ; and that is in their success, or 
rather in their want of it. They neither 
of them produce, in any due degree, the 
effect which they ought — the reformation 
of the world." 

The same remark may, indeed, be ex- 
tended to all the blessings of creation ; to 
our various talents of mind, and body, and 
estate. Some of the most valuable gifts of 
God become by abuse the most fruitful 
sources of calamity and crime. That Chris- 
tianity, then, should be liable to similar 
abuses, shows only that it corresponds to 
the ordinary dealings of God with man- 
kind, and that it is subject to the same free 
agency of man which so often perverts the 
best intentions of Providence. 

But this objection, if pushed to its full 
extent, viz. that Christianity has not upon 
the whole improved the moral condition of 



282 

mankind, is false and unfounded; as any 
one may learn, either from a comparison of 
ancient with modern history, or from what 
perhaps is more to be depended on, a com- 
parison of the present state of the Christian 
world with that portion of the globe which 
is still buried in Paganism and idolatry. 
The truth seems to be as we have already 
remarked, that neither Christianity nor the 
religion of nature have done all which they 
might have done for the improvement and 
happiness of mankind. Both have succeeded 
to a certain extent, and both have failed 
beyond this extent. Yet neither are justly 
chargeable with errors which arise out of 
the weakness of reason, or out of the abuse 
of man's free agency. 

[See Notes aud Illustrations, No. 7 9.] 



283 



SECTION XXXIV. 

Is it not a strong Presumption in favour of 
Christianity, that it is adapted to the Ca- 
pacities of the Poor f * 

There is one consideration which must 
strike the mind of every reflecting theist, 
as a remarkable circumstance in favour of 
the Christian religion. It is this, that it is 
adapted to the situations of the bulk of 
mankind ; that it has overcome the diffi- 
culty of instructing the poor in their duties 
toward God and their neighbours ; and that 
even allowing it had taught nothing beyond 
the duties of morality, yet that it has 
taught them to the people at large, instead 
of confining this knowledge to a select and 
limited number of the higher orders. 

So sensible were the ancient philosophers 
of this difficulty, that they seldom appear 
to have attempted any thing beyond the in- 
struction of their own immediate adherents 5 

* See Part I. Sect. 37. 



284 

giving up the cause of the multitude as al- 
together desperate. It was a general maxim 
amongst them, that every one should wor- 
ship and sacrifice according to the custom 
of his country ; that is, in other language, 
that the errors and superstitions of the vul- 
gar should not be openly disturbed. * 

Now, it is surely no little argument in 
favour of the Christian Revelation, that it 
has adopted a method of instruction which 
is level to the apprehensions of all man- 
kind ; and that, while its doctrines possess 
a sublimity which may delight and amaze 
the most refined taste, they have a plain- 
ness and simplicity which render them 
practically intelligible to the meanest capa- 
city. 

The institution of a visible church, and 
the ordinance of public preaching, should 
also be mentioned as no slight indications 
of a wisdom superior to all the inventions 
of human ingenuity. Simple as these ap- 
pointments may appear, they are altogether 
peculiar to Christianity ; and they have done 

* See Xenoph. Memorabil., lib. iv. c. 3. sect. 8. 



285 

more for the interests of piety and morals 
than all the labours of philosophy. Their 
simplicity is like that of nature, in which 
every thing is accomplished by means which 
are apparently the most artless, and yet the 
most efficacious. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 80.] 



286 



SECTION XXXV. 

Is it not a Presumption in favour of Christi- 
anity, that its Truth has been admitted by 
the great Majority of the learned ? * 

We have already more than once remarked 
that the most sage and reflecting of the 
ancient philosophers acknowledged their 
want of a Divine Revelation, and were 
fully sensible of the darkness and uncer- 
tainty which attended their own reasonings. 
Hence we have deduced a presumption in 
favour of a Revelation in general. But 
this presumption will be still further height- 
ened when applied to Christianity, since it 
has actually received the approbation and 
belief of the wisest and best of those to 
whom its doctrines and evidences have been 
addressed. 

We do not deny that some individuals of 
extraordinary talents have avowed them- 
selves unbelievers ; but these are not only 

# See Part L Sect. 35, 36. and 38. 



287 

few in number, but in moral worth and 
respectability of character they are not to 
be mentioned with those who have given it 
their support. A large proportion of these 
infidels have been men of the most loose 
and profligate morals, and who have avowed 
their contempt and disbelief of the most 
essential articles of natural theology. Others 
have assailed our religion with wit and buf- 
foonery, instead of debating its evidences 
with calmness and sobriety. Now, these 
cannot be adduced as fair and conscientious 
witnesses against us ; and their opposition, 
if it can be supposed to have any weight, 
ought to be esteemed entirely in favour of 
its truth. And though, as we are willing to 
admit, there are a few others of decent and 
respectable character, yet something must 
always be allowed in moral computations 
for the peculiarities of individual temper 
and disposition. They may have been early 
prejudiced against Christianity by the errors 
with which they had seen it associated, or 
they may not have considered it with suf- 
ficient attention ; or the love of paradox 
and singularity may have tempted them to 

12 



288 

oppose what the generality of their neigh- 
bours admitted. The same exceptions have 
occurred in the belief of the plainest doc- 
trines of natural theology. At any rate, 
the deduction to be made on this account 
is not sufficient to counterbalance the weight 
of the opposite evidence. 

The argument is this : Whereas the gene- 
rality of the ancient philosophers derided 
and disbelieved the popular system of Pagan 
mythology ; upon the contrary, the great 
majority of good and wise and learned men 
in modern times, have admitted the truth 
of the Christian Revelation. Now, as it 
was a presumptive argument against the 
former, that it had offended the judgments 
and opinions of those who were best ena- 
bled to decide upon such questions ; so it 
must be granted to be an equal presump- 
tion in favour of the latter, that it has 
received the approbation and support of 
the majority of those who could most easily 
have detected any fallacy in its evidences 
or any absurdity in its doctrines. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 81.] 



289 



SECTION XXXVI. 

Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its having gradually and progressively 
advanced ? 

According to the principles of reason and 
probability, it has been shown *, that a Re- 
velation, coming from God, would be gra- 
dually and imperceptibly developed ; that it 
would not at once shoot up into sudden ma- 
turity, but that it would accord with the 
usual course of nature, by progressively 
advancing with the different ages of the 
world, and by accompanying us in our va- 
rious stages of knowledge and civilisation. 

This probability is not only warranted by 
our observations upon external nature, but 
it is confirmed by the whole history of 
human knowledge. If the evidences of such 
a Revelation were to be in any degree ra- 
tional, it is necessary that they should par- 
take of this gradual and progressive deve- 

* Sec Part I. Sect. 39. 

u 



290 

iopement ; and that they should be suited 
to the character of man according to his ad- 
vance in mental improvement. 

Now this is what we affirm may be dis- 
covered of Christianity, when viewed in its 
connection with Judaism. It is a dispen- 
sation which hath been gradually unfolding 
from creation unto the present day ; its evi- 
dences, doctrines, and precepts have been 
adapted to the iufancy, the youth, and the 
manhood of the world. At first it de- 
pended, in a great measure, upon visible 
manifestations of the Deity ; then it was 
shadowed out in types and figures, accom- 
panied with prophetical descriptions ; and 
at length, in the fulness of time, the ex- 
pected Messiah arrived. With him com- 
menced a new series of events : that 
religion, which had hitherto been a state 
of pupilage, and confined to a particular 
people, was now to be offered to the com- 
mon acceptance of all nations ; that reli- 
gion, which had hitherto been typical and 
scenical, was now to be realised by the ac- 
complishment of predictions, and to be laid 
before mankind as matter of moral and his- 



291 



torical record. But this change could not 
be effected without a multitude of plain 
and incontestible miracles, aided by all 
the force of prophetical accomplishments 
and moral excellence. The immediate re- 
sult was, the rapid diffusion of Christianity 
over the whole Roman empire. After this 
grand establishment of the Christian reli- 
gion, it was left to confide upon its own 
intrinsic excellence: its progress was left 
dependent, in a great degree, on secondary 
causes, and the state of human knowledge 
and civilisation. Hence it sank and suf- 
fered with the decline of learning, still, 
however, keeping alive those embers which 
were afterwards to be relumined into flame. 
With returning light and knowledge, it 
sprang again into activity, achieving its own 
reformation with that of philosophy ; and it 
has ever since been making slow but con- 
stant advancement in the world. 

Now, whatever may be thought of this 
Revelation in other respects, it must be 
granted that it is calculated to afford the 
greatest display of moral and historical evi- 
dence. In addition to its miracles and 'pro- 
u 2 



292 



phecies, it offers to our consideration all the 
incidental proofs and circumstantial argu- 
ments which have grown up in the period 
of nearly six thousand years. To mention 
only one example, how could the evidence, 
which is reflected upon Christianity from 
the history and the sufferings of the Jews, 
have been connected with any other than a 
gradual and progressive dispensation ? But 
why should we mention any evidence in 
particular, when the whole series of our 
arguments is one continued illustration of 
this assertion ? 

From these observations, it will appear 
upon what a vast and complicated pile of 
evidence the Christian Revelation is founded, 
and how totally they mistake its nature and 
genius who would endeavour to simplify it 
into any one species of proof, to the exclu- 
sion of others. In the endless variety of 
its arguments, there is matter adapted to 
every variety of disposition. Those who 
delight in a series of connected facts may 
here trace the history of mankind from their 
first creation. Those who are pleased with 
the resemblances between types and reali- 



29S 

ties, may here compare the whole of the 
Jewish polity with their explanations in 
the Christian church. Here the lover of 
strict and positive testimony may find mul- 
titudes conspiring to bear witness to mira- 
cles ; and here, also, those who take plea- 
sure in comparing predictions with their 
corresponding events, may find the most 
clear, accurate, and incontestible examples 
of their favourite species of evidence. 

But of all the proofs which have arisen 
to Christianity, from its being a gradual and 
progressive system, none are more valuable, 
more numerous, or more justly worthy of 
attention, than those which depend on its 
alliance and connection with the govern- 
ment of Providence. If it had not been 
this gradual and progressive dispensation, 
all its moral, reasonable, and circumstantial 
evidence would have been lost. But this is 
the kind of evidence which comes home to 
our business and bosoms without the toil 
of study and the labour of abstraction. 
Amongst the thousands who believe in 
Christianity, it is but a few* comparatively, 
who are enabled to look into its prophetical 
u 3 



294 



and historical arguments. The great ma- 
jority of its followers must rely upon their 
own convictions of its suitability to their 
nature and condition, and to the effects 
which they behold it daily producing upon 
society. But these are evidences arising 
out of its being a gradual and progressive 
dispensation, from its harmonising with the 
course of society, and proceeding in unison 
with ordinary affairs of the world. 

It is in this manner that the connection 
of Christianity with Natural Theology be- 
comes more and more apparent ; so that 
hereafter it may imply some doubts of a 
Providence to question the truth of that 
religion by which the blessings of Provi- 
dence have been chiefly distributed. Even 
now it looks too much like the carelessness 
of the sceptic to refuse to investigate its 
claims. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 82.] 



ms 



SECTION XXXVIL 

Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its permanent Continuance in the 
World?* 

Supposing that novelty or persecution could 
account for the early influence and the rapid 
diffusion of Christianity, on its first publi- 
cation, yet these causes must long since 
have ceased to operate. If it could have 
imposed on the credulity of dark and igno- 
nant ages, is it probable that an imposture 
would flourish with the advancement of 
learning, and revive with returning intel- 
lect? 

Mahometanism, the only religion which 
can be compared to the Christian, was at 
first established by violence; and it has 
never since been able to make its way out 
of the Turkish empire. Besides, its doc- 
trines, unlike those of Christianity, are ad- 
dressed to the passions, rather than to the 

* See Part L Sect. 40, 
u # 



296 

understandings, of mankind. But* there h 
no subject of human reason on which so 
many minds have been exercised, as upon 
the evidences of the Christian Revela- 
tion. It was at first opposed to the united 
prejudices of Jews and Pagans ; and ever 
since it has been combated by individuals 
of the most splendid talents. Now, what 
has been the practical result of all this en- 
quiry and investigation ? Why, not only 
the maintenance of Christianity against all 
the wit and learning of its opponents, but 
its prevalence, and propagation, and pro- 
motion in the world. Whether it be true 
or false, it has withstood all the attacks of un- 
believers ; it has alike triumphed over their 
secret machinations and their open violence. 
Humanly speaking, there is not the smallest 
probability that the Christian religion can 
ever be demolished. The predictions of 
the founder of Christianity, concerning his 
church, have begun to assume an historical 
as well as a prophetical appearance. To 
every future opponent, the same reply may 
be given which was given by Bishop Watson 
to Mr. Paine : " The Bible, Sir, has with- 



297 

stood the learning of Porphyry and the 
power of Julian ; to say nothing of the 
Manichean Faustus, it has resisted the 
genius of Bolingbroke and the wit of Vol- 
taire, to say nothing of a numerous herd 
of inferior assailants. Why, then, should 
it fall by your force ?" 

This argument, though not conclusive, 
is certainly a strong presumption in fWour 
of our religion : it evinces a power and 
buoyancy in its evidences which renders 
the cause of infidelity more and more hope- 
less. So far from a decay in the proofs of 
our religion, as Mr. Hume imagined, it 
grows rich with the spoils of time, and is 
invested with new credibility by the lapse 
of ages. By its permanence and continu- 
ance, it becomes more and more identified 
with the history of the world, with the 
progress of civilisation, with the govern- 
ment of Providence, and with the welfare 
of natural religion. Every unsuccessful 
attack upon its truth becomes another in- 
direct evidence in its favour. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 83.] 



298 



SECTION XXXVIIL 

Is there not some Credibility derived to Chris- 
tianity from its past and present Influence 
on Human Happiness f * 

On the acknowledged principles of natural 
theology, that we are living under the su- 
perintendance of a wise and merciful Pro- 
vidence, there must arise a strong presump- 
tive argument in favour of any religion 
which has diffused the greatest portion of 
happiness and virtue amongst mankind ; 
and which appears fitted to carry the facul- 
ties of the human mind to the highest 
pitch of moral excellence which they are 
capable of attaining. 

Now previous to any enquiry into the 
evidences of Christianity considered as a 
divine revelation, it is matter of plain his- 
torical record, that this religion has diffused 
a greater proportion of happiness and virtue, 
and social and domestic order, than any other 
channel by which the prosperity of the 

* See Part L Sect. 41. 

14. 



299 

human race has been advanced. Consider 
the situation of modern Europe as contrast- 
ed with its ancient manners and condition, 
or compare it with those regions which are 
still unvisited by our religion, and you will 
at once be persuaded, that, whether Chris- 
tianity be true or false in its divine preten- 
sions, it is favourable to the exercise of 
reason, and to the promotion of our tem- 
poral happiness, in a degree, which places 
it at the head of all moral, political, and 
social improvements. 

If we believe, with the generality of phi- 
losophers, that mankind are destined to 
attain far higher degrees of knowledge and 
civilisation than they now possess, and that 
there is a tendency in human affairs towards 
general improvement, is it not probable, 
that the same medium by which they have 
attained their present superiority will also 
conduct them to these ulterior advantages ? 

Since this religion, in particular, has been 
the most effectual instrument of reclaiming 
barbarous and savage nations, and of bring- 
ing them to juster notions respecting the 



300 

Deity, is it not probable, by an inter- 
course with those learned and polished 
countries, which are already Christian, that 
science, literature, and civilisation may be 
gradually carried throughout the world? 
Is there not an accordance in these views 
between the hopes of philosophy, the pro- 
mises of prophecy, and the experience of 
history ? 

Let any reflecting Theist survey the past 
and present influence of Christianity upon 
human happiness; let him consider how it 
has abolished many cruel and unnatural 
customs, introducing mildness, charity, and 
benevolence into the place of savage fero- 
city and tyrannical force ; let him con- 
sider how it has diffused, in some degree, 
over the whole of society those advantages 
which were before restricted to a few 
amongst the higher orders ; let him com- 
pare ancient with modern history, and then 
let him reflect whether it is probable that 
such extensive and inestimable benefits 
could have been derived from a mere fic- 
tion and imposture. Would it not be 



301 



subversive of the fundamentals of natural 
theology to believe that Providence had 
thus universally befriended the cause of 
error and delusion ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 84,] 



802 



SECTION XXXIX. 

Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from the Impieties and Contradictions con- 
tained in the Writings of its Opponents f * 

It was long since observed by Mr. Locke 
that Deists in our days, who obstinately 
reject Revelation when offered to them, are 
not such men as Socrates and Tully, who 
lamented and deplored the ignorance of 
nature ; but that under the pretence of 
deism, they generally ridicule all that is 
truly excellent in natural religion. *f- 

This is a serious charge which requires 
to be upheld by strong evidence. The fol- 
lowing facts will, I apprehend, go far to 
substantiate its truth. 

Lord Herbert % the father of our English 
Deists, apologizes for lewdness in certain 
cases " as resembling the thirst of a dropsy, 
" or the inactivity of a lethargy ;" and Tin- 

* See Part I. Sect. 42. 

f Reasonableness of Christianity. 

% Leland, vol. i. Letter 1. 



303 



dal* speaks in a similar manner in his 
book intituled " Christianity as old as the 
" Creation." It was the favourite principle 
of Mr. Hobbes, that the civil law was the 
sole foundation of right and wrong ; and 
that religion has no obligation, but as en- 
joined by the magistrate. De Cive, p. 348, 
Bolingbroke asserts f , " that the only con- 
" sideration which can reconcile a man to 
" confine himself to one woman, and a 
" woman to one man, is this, that nothing 
" hinders them from indulging their de- 
" sires with others." Hume £ adopts the 
opinions of a French writer, " that adultery 
" must be practised if we would obtain all 
" the advantages of life ; and that female 
" infidelity, when known, is a small thing, 
" and when unknown is nothing." Self- 
denial, according to the same writer, is " a 
" monkish virtue." Bolingbroke resolves 
our sentiments of sexual modesty into 
" mere vanity," or pretence " for excessive 
lust." This shame, he says, is but " arti- 

* Christianity as old as the Creation, p. 32, 
f Works, vol. v. p. 167. 
J Fuller on Deism, p. 38. 



304 

u ficial, and has been inspired by human 
w laws, by prejudices, and the like. He is 
" not certain that the laws of nature for- 
" bid incest of the highest kind." See Ice- 
land's Deistical Writers, vol. ii. Letter 26. 

It is the opinion of Rousseau, that our 
feelings are to be made the standard of 
morals. " I have but to consult myself," 
says he, " what I ought to do. All that I 
" feel to be right, is right. Whatever I 
" feel to be wrong is wrong. All the mo- 
" rality of our actions lies in the judgment 
u we ourselves form of them." * The phi- 
losophy of Mr. Gibbon led him to blend 
the most obscene remarks with the details 
of history. Godwin recommends abortion 
and infanticide as the best methods to keep 
down population. Bayle attempts to prove 
atheism less hurtful to a state than super- 
stition. The doctrine of a particular pro- 
vidence is denied by Chubb and Boling- 
broke. Prayer is objected to by Mr. Blount. 
Lord Shaftesbury frequently attempts to 
ridicule the doctrine of future rewards and 

* Emilius, vol. i. p. 166—168. 



305 



punishments. The propriety of . public 
worship is strongly contested by Boling- 
broke. He is also very sceptical as to the 
immortality of the soul, and denies that we 
have any notions of the moral attributes of 
God. Collins writes against the immorta- 
lity of the soul, and against human liberty 
and pre-agency. Mr. Hume denies that we 
have any such evidence of the Divine attri- 
butes as can lead us to expect a state of 
moral retribution. The obscenities of Vol- 
taire are scattered over every part of his 
writings. Lord Chesterfield inculcates a 
code of practical irreligion in his letters. 
Godwin and Mary Woolstoncroft derided 
the solemnities of marriage as of no import 
to society. 

With such principles, it is no wonder 
that the lives of infidels should in general 
be profligate and licentious in the extreme. 
The morals of Rochester and Wharton 
need no comment. Woolston was a gross 
blasphemer. Blount solicited his sister-in- 
law to marry him, and being refused, shot 
himself. Tindal was distinguished for his 
vices, and for a total absence of moral 



306 

principle. Hobbes unblushingly avowed 
that he wrote his " Leviathan to serve the 
" cause of Charles L, but finding him fail 
" of success, he turned it into a defence of 
" Cromwell." Morgan professed himself a 
Christian at the very time he was an infi- 
del. Voltaire passed a life of profligacy 
and immorality. Hume died jesting about 
Charon and his boat. Collins, though an 
infidel, qualified himself for office by taking 
the Lord's Supper. Shaftesbury did the 
same. Paine was notorious as a swearer and 
a drunkard. The confessions of Rousseau 
convict him of the most flagrant vices. ? 

If it should be replied, that the lives of 
many Christians are no better than those of 
infidels, while we unwillingly admit the fact, 
we must accompany our admission with two 
observations. First, that such Christians act 
in opposition to those principles which they 
profess, whereas the crimes of infidels are 
justified by their opinions. Secondly, that 
we have here mentioned the most eminent 
apostles of infidelity; those who are looked 
up as its ornaments and teachers. Now, 

* See Fuller on Deism, Part I. Ch. 5. 



807 

let the most eminent teachers of Christi- 
anity be mentioned, and see whether they 
are equally celebrated for their vices and 
immoralities. 

Supposing this to be a fair statement of 
the question, does not there a presump- 
tive argument arise in favour of Chris- 
tianity from the decided moral superiority, 
both in theory and practice, of its adherents 
over its adversaries ? Can it be unreason- 
able to surmise, that those principles are 
founded in truth and rectitude, which 
amidst all the weakness and frailties of hu- 
manity, have enabled their believers to ap- 
pear to so much advantage, when compared 
with their adversaries ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 85,] 



x 2 



308 



SECTION XL. 



Does not Christianity derive some Credibility 
from its being the only Revelation which 
can possibly be true ? 

We have remarked *, that there would exist 
a strong presumption against the truth of 
any Revelation which did not possess a 
manifest superiority over all which falsely 
made the same pretensions. Now this 
superiority, by the confession of our oppo- 
nents, is inherent in Christianity when it is 
compared with Mahometanism, (the truth 
of Judaism, as an original Revelation being 
allowed by Christianity,) which is the only 
religion besides in the world professing to 
be a Divine Revelation. 

It should be considered, then, that the 
question is not which out of several Reve- 
lations is true, but whether there has been 
any Revelation at all ? For if the truth of 

* See Part L Sect. 43. 



309 

Christianity be not admitted, there is not 
the slightest probability that the claims of 
Mahometanism would be allowed in its 
stead. 

Whatever degree of abstract probability, 
therefore, may attach to the general propo- 
sition, that some Revelation would be given 
by God to man, the entire force of this pro- 
bability is now concentrated on the Chris- 
tian Revelation. This is a consideration 
which not only narrows the labour of en- 
quiry, but which diminishes the risk of 
mistake ; for it is more likely that we can 
discover the truth, when it is thus brought 
to a single point, than if we had been first 
obliged to balance the contending claims of 
several rival candidates. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 86.J 



x S 



310 



SECTION XLL 



Is not the Scripture Doctrine that we are 
saved by the free Mercy of God, strictly 
in Unison with the Suggestions of enlight- 
ened Reason t * 

" He that for giving a draught of water to 
a thirsty person should expect to be paid 
with a good plantation, would be modest 
in his demands compared with those who 
think they deserve heaven for the little good 
which they can do upon earth." f Such 
was the observation of a man of virtue, 
though no believer of Christianity, when 
reflecting on the utter disproportion which 
exists between the good actions of the best 
of men and a state of eternal happiness 
after death. " You see by this," he adds, 
" my notions of good works, that I am far 
from expecting to merit Heaven by them.'' 
In the present state of human nature, it 
may be doubted whether a high degree of 

* See Part I. Sect. 44. 

f Franklin's Correspondence, Letter I. p. 2. 



311 

dependence on our own merits be not alto- 
gether incompatible with any sentiments of 
piety towards God. Since man, as we have 
repeatedly observed, is now in the situation 
of a, penitent, all his virtues must be founded 
in humility. Hence the proud language of 
ancient Stoicism was altogether unfitted to 
our nature. It was an attempt to make 
man talk like an innocent being who could 
depend upon himself; whereas he knows 
and feels that he is guilty and deserving of 
punishment ; and that his only chance of 
escape arises out of the goodness and mercy 
of his Creator. 

How far these views of our unworthiness 
are positively supported by the opinion of 
the ancient philosophers, may admit of con- 
siderable doubt. Perhaps it would be diffi- 
cult to adduce any clear and decided testi- 
mony on this subject, though it might be 
inferred from the usual language of their 
prayers and from their sentiments respect- 
ing sacrifices and atonements. As soon as 
a man confesses that he is a sinner, he vir- 
tually confesses that he must depend on the 
mercy rather than on the strict justice of 
God. 

x 4 



312 

It is these sentiments respecting our own 
natural demerits, which have rendered the 
morality of the Gospel at once so original 
and so efficacious. Casting down those high 
imaginations which were so little adapted to 
our fallen nature, Christianity commences 
its career by laying deeply the foundations 
of our repentance towards God, and then 
by offering us pardon and salvation through 
Jesus Christ. A religion so adapted to the 
meridian of our nature, has surely some 
strong recommendations to attract our at- 
tention. Whether it be fact or fiction, it is 
calculated to meet the exigencies of our 
situations. It approaches us with the ap- 
pearance of truth on account of its suita- 
bility to our faculties and to our moral 
principles. How, then, can we refuse to 
look into the evidences of its history? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 870 



313 



SECTION XLJL 



Does not Christianity acquire some Credibility 
from the acknowledged Superiority of the 
Modern Systems of Natural Religion ? * 

It is a generally admitted fact, that from 
some cause, the ethical systems of modern 
times are far more complete and consistent 
than those of antiquity, more particularly 
in that part which relates to the duties and 
doctrines of natural theology. Now it is at 
least a possible supposition, that this supe- 
riority may in part have arisen out of the 
Christian Revelation, especially since it can- 
not well be attributed to any want of thought 
or talent in the ancient philosophers. 

This supposition is rendered still more 
credible from considering that the perfec- 
tion of our modern morality consists solely 
in its agreement with the moral precepts of 
Christianity. For as we have before ob- 
served f, whenever there is any variance in 

* See Part L Sect. 45. 
f See Part II. Sect. 39. 



314 

this respect, it loses all its wonted aspect of 
superiority, and immediately falls back into 
the grossest errors and contradictions of the 
ancients. 

There is one particular which has just 
been mentioned, which seems to have been 
tacitly adopted into all the modern systems 
of natural religion, which, I think, may be 
clearly traced to the doctrines of Revelation. 
It is this — that no man now thinks he can 
deserve eternal happiness as a matter of 
right due to him from the justice of God, 
but that he must simply rely upon his 
mercy. Though Mr. Blount, in his Oracles 
of Reason, would state this as one of his 
seven articles of natural religion, yet it may 
be doubted whether it were thus positively 
stated by any of the moralists of antiquity. 

Upon the whole, it must be allowed that 
the mere fact of the great superiority of our 
modern systems of natural religion, is no 
little presumption in favour of the Christian 
Hevelation. From some cause or other, it 
is plain that an individual of very moderate 
abilities may now draw up a system of prac- 
tical ethics which shall far outshine in purity 

13 



315 

and moral excellence the most elaborate 
treatises of the ancients. This is a singular 
phenomenon, and certainly deserves our en- 
quiry ; but the enquiry cannot be prosecuted 
without investigating the influence of Chris- 
tianity on our habits of moral disquisition. 

Another remarkable distinction between 
the morals of ancient and modern society, 
is to be found in the far greater attention 
which is now generally paid to the wants 
of the poor. Though hospitals and in- 
firmaries were not quite unknown amongst 
the heathens *, yet they were comparatively 
of very rare occurrence. Is it not at least 
probable that we owe this superiority to our 
religion ; and does not this probability call 
for an examination into its historical 
evidences ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 88.] 
* See Jortin on Christian Religion, p. 152. 



816 



SECTION XLIII. 

h there not some Credibility derived to Chris- 
tianity from the Admissions and Eulogiums 
of its Adversaries ? 

It is a matter of surprise that most of those 
writers who have distinguished themselves 
by their attacks upon the evidences of Chris- 
tianity, have been loud and express in their 
commendations of its moral principles and 
effects. Since we can attribute these ac- 
knowledgments to nothing but the force of 
its intrinsic merit, I have thought that it 
might be serviceable to collect a few of 
their most striking opinions on the subject. 

Lord Herbert, the earliest of our English 
deists, after many honourable compliments 
to the Scriptures, thus concludes his cele- 
brated work on the Religion of the Gen- 
tiles : — "I freely submit myself to the 
" censure and judgment of the Catholic 
" and orthodox church." 

Mr. Hobbes declares, " that though the 
laws of nature be not laws as they proceed 



317 

from nature ; yet as they are given by God 
in Holy Scripture, they are properly called 
laws ; for the Holy Scripture is the voice of 
God, ruling all things by the greatest light." 
See Leland's Deistical Writers, vol. i. p. 35. 
Mr. Blount has delivered his opinion 
respecting Christianity in the following 
words : — " Undoubtedly, in our travels 
to another world, the common road is the 
safest ; and though deism is a good manur- 
ing of a man's conscience, yet certainly, if 
sowed with Christianity, it will produce the 
most plentiful crop." Oracles of Reason, 
p. 87—91. 

Mr. Tindal affirms of Christianity, " that 
when stript of the additions which policy, 
mistakes, and the circumstances of time have 
made to it, it is a most holy religion, and is 
so far from being indefensible, that it carries 
with it its own evidences." Christianity as 
Old as the Creation, p. 422. 

Doctor Morgan, in his Moral Philosopher, 
amidst many other encomiums on Christi- 
anity, thus expresses himself: — " If the re- 
ligion of nature, amidst the present pravity 
and corruption of mankind, was written 



318 

with sufficient strength and clearness on 
every man's heart, why might not a Chinese 
or an Indian draw up as good a system of 
natural religion as a Christian ; and why 
have we not met with any such ? Let us 
take Confucius, Zoroaster, Plato, Socrates, 
or the greatest moralist that ever lived with- 
out the light of Revelation, and it will 
appear that their best systems of morality 
are intermixed and blended with much 
superstition, and so many gross absurdities 
as quite eluded and defeated their main 
design." Moral Philosopher, p. 143. 

Mr. Chubb acknowledges " that the writ- 
ings of the Apostles contain excellent cau- 
tions, advices and instructions, which serve 
for the right conducting our affections and 
actions ; and that it may be a piece of jus- 
tice due to Christianity to acknowledge that 
it yields a much clearer light, and is a more 
safe guide to mankind than any other tra- 
ditionary religion, as being better adapted 
to improve and perfect human nature." See 
Chubb's Posthumous Works, vol. ii. p. 297. 

Mr. Hume often professes to speak of 
Christianity with profound respect. Thus, 



319 



in the tenth section of his Essay on Mira- 
cles, he says, " that our most holy religion 
" is founded on faith, not on reason ;" and 
he asserts " that it gives him delight to have 
" invented an argument which may confute 
" the dangerous friends or the disguised 
" enemies of the Christian religion. 5 ' The 
same observation will also apply to many of 
Voltaire s remarks on Pascal's Thoughts. 
Thus, in one place, he says, " The Christian 
religion, founded in truth, has no need of 
doubtful proofs ;" and in another, he says, 
" It is certain from faith and Revelation, 
things above the comprehension of man, 
that we are fallen ; though nothing is less 
apparent to reason." 

Lord Bolingbroke often declares his ad- 
miration of genuine Christianity : — " He 
" allows that the Gospel is in all cases one 
" continued lesson of the strictest morality, 
" of justice, benevolence, and of universal 
" charity." In another place, he affirms, 
" that genuine Christianity was taught of 
" God." See other instances adduced by 
Leland in his Deistical Writers, vol. ii. 
p. 177, &c. 



320 

Mr. Toland constantly professes himself a 
Christian in his book styled " Christianity 
not Mysterious," and asserts that it is his 
design to reconcile Christianity with natural 
religion. 

Lord Shaftesbury wrote a preface to a 
selection of Dr. Whichcote's Sermons, in 
which he expresses his hope " that those 
who had been prejudiced against Christi- 
anity, might be induced to like it better." 
See Leland's Deistical Writers, vol. i. p. 54. 

Mr. Woolston professed his attachment to 
the mystical sense of Scripture in opposition 
to the literal, and speaks " of rescuing the 
Apostles and Evangelists, the Prophets and 
Fathers of the church, out of the hands of 
the preachers of the letter." He charges 
his antagonists " with ignorance and malice 
" in representing him as a writer in favour 
" of infidelity, declaring that he is the 
" farthest of any from being engaged in 
"the cause of infidelity; that he writes, 
" not for the service of deism, which has 
" no place in his heart, but for the honour 
" of the holy Jesus and in defence of Chris- 
" tianity." At the end of his fourth Dis- 



321 

course on the Miracles, he declares, " that 
" his design is the advancement of the 
" Messiahship of the holy Jesus, to whom 
" be glory for ever, amen." See Leland, 
vol. i. letter 8., also Bishop Smalbroke. * 

The eloquent eulogy of Rousseau is well 
known : — "I will confess," says he, " that 
" the majesty of the Scriptures strikes me 
" with admiration. Peruse the works of 
" any philosopher ; how mean, how con- 
" temptible are they compared with the 
" Scriptures ! Is it possible that a book so 
" simple and yet so sublime, should be 
" merely the work of a man ?" &c. See his 
Works, vol. v. p. 215. 

Dr. Franklin acknowledges " that the 
system of morality and religion, as left us 
by Jesus Christ, is not only the best which 
the world has ever seen, but which it is ever 
likely to see." Franklin's Correspondence, 
p. 130. 

Even Mr. Paine professes a regard for 
the character of Christ. " He was," says 
he, " a virtuous and amiable man. The 

* See the Prefaces to his Vindication of the Miracles; 
vols. i. and ii. 

Y 



322 

morality which he preached and practised 
was of the most benevolent kind." Age of 
Reason, part i. p. 5. 

Mr. Gibbon, in several passages of his 
History, contrasts the morality of the Gos- 
pel with that of the Pagan idolatries ; and 
attributes the rapid propagation of the 
Gospel, in no small degree, to the superior 
virtues of the early Christians. See the 
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 
vol. ii. chap. 15. 

Doctor Middleton (who has been gene- 
rally ranked amongst unbelievers), after 
contrasting the theology of Cicero with that 
of Scripture, thus expresses himself: — 
" When we reflect on all this, we must needs 
see abundant reason to be thankful to God 
for the divine light of his Gospel, which 
has revealed at last to babes and sucklings, 
what was hidden from the wise ; and with- 
out pains of searching or danger of mis- 
taking, has given us not only the hope but 
the assurance of happiness ; and made us 
riot only the believers, but the heirs of 
immortality." Life of Cicero, vol. iii. p. 354. 
We need not stop to enquire, whether 



323 

these writers were sincere or not in the 
sentiments which they have here expressed. 
If they were sincere, it shows the moral 
excellence of that religion which could have 
wrung such acknowledgments even from its 
adversaries. If, upon the contrary, they 
feigned these opinions, what becomes of 
their honour and integrity ? In either case, 
is it not a presumptive evidence in favour of 
our religion ? 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 89.] 



Y c l 



3 24 



SECTION XLIV. 

Is not the political Situation of the Jexvs a 
presumptive Argument in Favour of Chris- 
tianity ? 

Independent of all researches into pro- 
phecy, let any reflecting individual consider 
the past and present fortunes of this extra- 
ordinary people. In connection with his 
belief of a superintending Providence, let 
him consider whether there be not some 
reason to suppose that they are living under 
an extraordinary dispensation ; and that 
they are distinguished from all other nations 
of the earth, by some peculiarities which 
are not to be accounted for on the ordinary 
principles of our nature. 

Here is a people who have long been ex- 
iled from their own country, yet who remain 
unmingled amidst other nations. In their 
countenances, their customs, their religion, 
they are unaltered by climate and situation. 
We may recognise a Jew wherever we meet 



825 

with him. Though they are to be met with 
in every part of the world, yet they are 
strangers and foreigners in every country ; 
and, however rich as individuals, yet they 
are not domesticated by their commercial 
intercourse. They are still a peculiar peo- 
ple. 

Now, it being matter of public notoriety, 
that this nation stands intimately connected 
with the evidences of Christianity, that they 
have handed down to us the Old Testa- 
ment, and were immediately concerned with 
the leading facts of the Gospel history, let 
any reflecting man consider whether there 
does not arise some degree of presumption 
in favour of Christianity from those peculiar 
circumstances, which have hitherto distin- 
guished them from all other political soci- 
eties ? 

The very existence of the Jews, at the 
present day, as a distinct and separate na- 
tion, is against all our notions of probability. 
It appears to be little short of what we 
usually signify by a miracle. Then they 
seem evidently to lie under some symptoms 
of divine displeasure. There is a reproach 
y 3 



326 

and obloquy attending them which can 
hardly be accounted for but on some extra- 
ordinary circumstances in their history. 
Whatever may be thought of the exact 
amount of such presumptive evidences, they 
must at least warrant any man's examina- 
tion into that connection which subsists 
between Judaism and Christianity. Since 
it is notorious that there now exists a peo- 
ple, distinguished from all others by many 
remarkable circumstances, and that the his- 
tory of this people is intimately connected 
with the authenticity of the Old and the New 
Testament, it becomes us, as mere political 
enquirers, to look into the relation which 
they bear to the evidences of the Christian 
Revelation. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 90.] 



327 



SECTION XLV. 

Does not Christianity acquire some Credibility 
from the Originality and superior Force of 
its Incentives ? 

The same observation which has been made 
respecting the Divine attributes will apply 
to the practical duties of natural and re- 
vealed religion, that they are in both the 
same ; and that Christianity rather confirms 
and establishes what was before perceived 
to be right, than offers to unfold to us any 
new and original offices of morality. 

This observation extends, in a general 
sense, to all our obligations, both civil and 
social ; yet there are some peculiarities in 
Christian ethics which are highly deserving 
of our notice, as being founded in a con- 
summate knowledge of the human heart, 
and eminently calculated to promote the 
happiness and prosperity of mankind. 

One of these, as has been often remarked, 
consists in placing the moral restraint on 
the emotions of the mind, rather than upon 

y 4 



328 

the overt act. " Whosoever looketh upon 
a woman to lust after her, hath committed 
adultery with her in his heart" Upon the 
same principle, hatred is connected with the 
crime of murder, according to the teaching 
of the founder of Christianity ; and the 
same reasoning will apply to all the other 
moral duties which are prescribed in the 
New Testament. 

Another characteristic of Christian mo- 
rals is its commendation of the mild and 
gentle above the strong and heroic virtues. 
Whereas the heathen philosophers had 
chiefly enlarged upon those features of the 
human character, which appear grand and 
awful, and which are principally useful in a 
state of war and commotion, it is the pro- 
fessed object of the inspired writers to in- 
sist chiefly on the value of the passive 
duties and virtues, to point out the excel- 
lence of humility and patience, and perse- 
verance in well-doing, rather than to dwell 
upon the splendid achievements of heroes 
and conquerors. 

Now, in all this, it must be allowed that 
there is a most consummate knowledge of 



329 

the human mind. Not only are the latter 
virtues of more real value in themselves, 
but of far more frequent demand in our in- 
tercourse with others ; and they are calcu- 
lated, in a great measure, to supersede the 
necessity of those imperious qualities which 
formerly absorbed the admiration of poets 
and moralists. Hence, Mr. Hume is com- 
pelled to admit that " the ancients would 
have considered as romantic and incredible 
the degree of humanity, clemency, order, 
and tranquillity to which we have attained 
in the administration of government in mo- 
dern times." 

Another important distinction of Chris- 
tian morality, is its having destroyed the 
distinction between the duties of perfect 
and imperfect obligation, thereby bringing 
forward to our view a large list of virtues 
which had previously wanted some adequate 
authority to bring them into action. " Du- 
ties, you know," says Bishop Watson to Mr. 
Paine, " duties were distinguished by mo- 
ralists into those of perfect and imperfect 
obligation. Does the Bible teach you no- 
thing when it instructs you that this dis- 



330 

tinction is entirely done away ? When it 
bids you put on bowels of mercies, kind- 
ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long- 
suffering, forbearing one another and for- 
giving one another, if any man have a 
quarrel against any ? These, and precepts 
such as these, you will look for in vain in 
the codes of Frederick or Justinian." 

But a still more important distinction in 
Christian ethics arises out of the conjunc- 
tion of moral duties with the sublimest 
doctrines of Revelation, so that it may be 
safely asserted, there is not one mystery in 
our religion which does not contain some 
new motive to practical holiness. Thus we 
are commanded to testify our love and gra- 
titude towards the Author and Finisher of 
our faith, by displaying our love towards 
each other ; and we are informed, that what- 
ever kindness we show to our fellow- Chris- 
tians shall be accounted as though it were 
done to our Heavenly Redeemer. A simi- 
lar reflection might be made on that doc- 
trine which instructs us to regard our bodies 
as the temples of the Holy Spirit ; but it is 
superfluous to multiply illustrations of a 



331 

remark, which extends to the whole com- 
pass of Christian doctrines as viewed in 
connection with Christian duties. 

The force and authority which attach to 
the precepts of the New Testament, as pro- 
fessing to come immediately from God* is 
also no slight advantage over the instruc- 
tions of men like ourselves. It serves to 
sanction and impress the intrinsic excel- 
lence of the precepts. Hence arises also 
that briefness and simplicity, that statement 
of the general rule, free from all minute 
exceptions and nice limitations, which 
render the morality of the Gospel, so infi- 
nitely superior, for practical and popular 
instruction, to all the abstract and complex 
systems which are the result of human 
study and philosophy. 

From these observations, it will appear 
that, though the morality of the Gospel be 
essentially the same as that which right 
reason and conscience have always recom- 
mended, yet that it has brought a host of 
new motives to reanimate and reinforce 
these convictions of our minds. But this 
was precisely what thd exigencies of human 



332 

nature demanded. It has been the lament- 
ation of legislators and moralists in all ages,, 
that the law of the mind was overruled by 
the law of the members, and that what 
reason saw and approved, she could not 
execute. 

It deserves, then, the consideration of 
every sober theist, whether so much wisdom 
and moral fitness may not be accounted as a 
probable evidence of a Divine Revelation- — 
whether, upon every principle of reason and 
good sense, and of natural theology, he is 
not bound to institute an enquiry into the 
historical proofs of a religion, which is ac- 
companied and connected with a moral 
system, that has far eclipsed, in purity and 
excellence and practical utility, all the wit 
and wisdom of human science. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 91.] 



383 



SECTION XLVI. 



If the Founder of Christianity had not been 
Divine, would not this Religion have na- 
turally tended to the Encouragement of 
Idolatry ? 

Upon the supposition that God had ap- 
pointed some Angel, say the highest created 
being, to die for the sins of the world, 
might it not have been clearly foreseen that 
divine worship would have been generally 
paid to him ? Taking mankind as they are 
at present constituted, would they not be 
universally so affected with gratitude to- 
wards any being who had conferred upon 
them such an inestimable benefit, that they 
would involuntarily be led to regard him 
with that religious love and veneration 
which would interfere with their love and 
duty towards God ? 

This presumption is naturally placed at 
the close of this work, because it is con- 
nected with the entire drift and scope of 



334 

the argument ; the whole of which tends to 
demonstrate, that, whether Christianity be 
true or false, we are treated by it in a man- 
ner which is congenial and suitable to our 
nature. But how could this be the case, if it 
had rendered our very virtues the means of 
exposing us to error and delusion ? Could 
that religion have been adapted to our facul- 
ties, which would almost have necessarily 
seduced our allegiance and duty from the 
Supreme ? 

According to the general tenor of our 
observations, Christianity is a dispensation 
so awful, dignified, and universal, that it 
may aspire, with some probability, to be the 
final cause of the creation. That such a 
dispensation should, in many respects, be 
mysterious and incomprehensible to reason, 
is so far from being any presumption against 
it, that it is necessarily implied in its truth. 
But if the author of this religion were not 
Divine, it would lose a great part of this 
grandeur and sublimity. Its moral incen- 
tives would then also be little stronger than 
those of natural religion : it would not be 
adapted for the reception of the p6or ; it 



335 

would not have contained any atonement 
for our sins, &c. Now all these are pre- 
sumptions which repeatedly occur in our 
arguments, and which are more or less in- 
terwoven with the whole texture of our 
reasonings. 

But, lastly, we should observe, that the 
positive effects of Christianity are often re- 
ferred to in this treatise, as a strong pre- 
sumptive justification of its claims to a 
Divine Revelation. It is here taken for 
granted, that it has been the most extensive 
medium of diffusing the blessings of know- 
ledge and civilisation, and of advancing the 
progress of natural theology. But how are 
such presumptions to be realised, if, upon 
the contrary, it has been the most compre- 
hensive channel for diffusing an idolatrous 
worship ? Upon the principles of a strict 
Unitarian, I should consider that the chief 
religious benefit which Christianity had 
afforded to mankind, arose from the indi- 
rect aid which it had given to the original 
establishment of Mahometanism. 

Though it be not necessary, as we have 
already remarked, that a Revelation should 



336 

prove universally successful, or that it 
should accomplish all the good effects 
which it was calculated to produce, yet it is 
totally subversive of our notions of pro- 
bability to believe that any dispensation 
coming from God should altogether fail of 
its intended advantages ; and that, instead 
of promoting the worship of the only true 
God, it should have been the most fruitful 
source of error and delusion. 

It is surely in the highest degree impro- 
bable that a teacher sent from God should 
couch his assertions and doctrines in such 
dark and dubious language that the great 
majority of his followers should entirely 
mistake their meaning ; that a religion, in- 
tended emphatically for the poor, should be 
understood by only a few of the learned. 
These are improbabilities so strong, and so 
directly opposed to our natural sentiments, 
that they may be reasonably viewed as a 
strong presumptive argument against Uni- 
tarianism, allowing Christianity to be a real 
Revelation. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 92.] 



337 



SECTION XLVII. 



Is there not some Credibility derived to Chris- 
tianity from its aspiring to be the final 
Cause of the Creation ? * 

" There is a great inconsistency, as Pro- 
fessor Stewart remarks, in supposing that 
the moral laws which regulate the course of 
human affairs have no reference to any thing 
beyond the limits of the present scene, when 
all the bodies which compose the visible 
universe appear to be related to each other, 
as parts of one great physical system." 
Outlines of Moral Philosophy, p. 237. 

Accordingly, to every observer of those 
marks of wisdom and design which are dis- 
coverable in the material world, the thought 
must often have occurred, what is the great 
aim and object of all this splendid ma- 
chinery ? f 

* See Part I. Sect. 46. 

t EI 8>) ti reXoj sail twv irpotMv, o 8* avlo £«Aof/,sS#, 
tu otXkot h o\a t«7o, xou pj %uv1u &Y sispov alpapeSa (wpoet<ri 
yap S7o> ye]$ omeipov, wrT elwi xevyv xai fbcdouotv ty^v ope£«v) 
SrjAov c&j tSt uv sty TotyaQov, x«» to ctptvlov* Aristot. Ethic, 
Nieom. lib. i. c. 2. 

Z 



338 

Now what we affirm is this, and the 
whole history of mankind becomes an evi- 
dence of our assertion, that either this aim, 
this object, must be found in a revelation, 
or that it is altogether unknown and unknow- 
able by man. There is nothing short of a 
great moral and religious dispensation in- 
tended for the benefit and improvement of 
the whole human race, which appears 
worthy of being considered in this transcend- 
antly important view. 

But it has been already remarked *, that 
there is but one revelation which has any 
appearance of truth, indeed there is jut 
one religion which professes to offer itself 
to mankind on the principle of its being, a 
scheme of universal redemption. What- 
ever degree of abstract credibility, then, 
attaches to the general anticipation, that 
there is some great moral system pervading 
every part of nature, the whole amount of 
this credibility, as far as human induction 
can lead, inclines us to place it to the 
account of Christianity. 

It has been already remarked, that Chris- 
tianity has all the essentials of a universal 

* See Part II. Sect. 40. 



339 

religion, and that though the knowledge of 
it be partial, yet that its benefits may be 
unlimited, and that it may have placed all 
mankind, whether Heathens or Christians, 
in a far better situation than they would 
otherwise have been in relation to eternal 
happiness. Nor is this a bare possibility, 
but it is a supposition positively counte- 
nanced by the Scriptures, as we have shown 
in Sect. 32. 

There is nothing also incredible in the 
supposition, that the knowledge of man's 
fall and redemption may extend to the 
most distant parts of the universe, and that 
it may produce the most important moral 
effects upon different orders of intelligent 
beings. This supposition is also counte- 
nanced by the expressions of Scripture. 
The angels, we are told, " desire to look 
into the plan of our redemption, and they 
rejoice over every sinner that repenteth." 
Why, then, may they not be equally affect- 
ed by those who do not repent ? And why 
may not such hopes and apprehensions be 
necessary to preserve them in their inno- 
cence ? " We know not," says Dr. Clark, 
z 2 



340 

but " that as God has now discovered to 
us, in some measure, the fall and punish- 
ment of the evil angels to be a warning to 
us, so he may hereafter use the example of 
the punishment of wicked and incorrigible 
men to be the means of preserving other 
beings in their obedience." Evidence of 
Nat. and Rev. Relig, p. 210. 

" The mediation of Christ," as Mr. Fuller 
argues, " is represented in Scripture as 
bringing the whole creation into union with 
the church and people of God. See 
Ephes. ch. i. v. 10., also Col. ch. i. v. 19. 
20. And the language which is here used, 
supposes that the introduction of sin had 
effected a disunion between man and the 
other parts of God's creation. It is natural 
to suppose it should do so. If a province 
of a great empire should rise up into re- 
bellion against the lawful government, all 
communication between the inhabitants of 
such a province and the faithful adherents 
to order and obedience must be at an end. 
A line of separation would be immediately 
drawn by the sovereign, and all intercourse 
between one and the other prohibited. 



341 

Nor would it less accord with the inclin- 
ation than with the duty of all the friends 
of righteousness to withdraw their connec- 
tion from those who were in rebellion 
against the supreme authority and the 
general good, It must have been thus 
with regard to the holy angels on man's 
apostacy. Those who at the creation of 
our world had sung together, and even 
shouted for joy, would now retire in dis- 
gust and holy indignation." Fuller on 
Deism, p. 221. 

Such views, it is hoped, may persuade 
some unbelievers of Christianity, not only to 
withdraw their prejudices, as if it were a 
limited and partial dispensation in regard 
to the present world, but to reflect that 
this religion may possibly constitute the 
moral plan of the universe itself; that 
though it be a Revelation intended more 
immediately for the benefit of mankind, 
yet that intelligent beings of every rank 
and capacity may be preserved in their 
allegiance by the knowledge of what has 
taken place in this little corner of God's 
dominions. 

z 3 



342 

Nor is there any thing in these specu- 
lations which is not countenanced by the 
analogies of the soundest philosophy : — 
" Whilst the earth glides round her axle, 
she ministers to the alternate necessities of 
the animals dwelling upon her surface ; at 
the same time that she obeys the influence 
of those attractions which regulate the order 
of many thousand worlds. The relation of 
sleep to night is the relation of the inhabi- 
tants of the earth to the rotation of their 
globe ; probably it is more ; it is the relation 
to the system of which that globe is a part ; 
and still further, to the congregation of 
systems, of which theirs is only one. If 
this account be true, it connects the meanest 
individual with the universe itself; a chicken 
roosting on its perch, with the spheres re- 
volving in the firmament." Paley's Natural 
Theology, p. 297. 

[See Notes and Illustrations, No. 93.] 



343 



Recapitulation of the Evidence. 

It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the 
same kind of harmony and agreement which 
pervade the presumptive arguments that 
compose the former part of this work, will 
also be found to extend to those which we 
have subsequently adduced. If there be any 
difference, the agreement will here be found 
still more close and complete, because the 
probabilities which were before mentioned 
as only likely to occur in a supposed Reve- 
lation, are here detailed with more pre- 
cision and minuteness, as having been ac- 
tually realized in the Christian Revelation. 
It may be expedient, however, to illus- 
trate these observations by one or two spe- 
cimens selected from the general mass. 
Thus in Sect. 7. it is mentioned, as a pre- 
sumptive argument in favour of Christi- 
anity, that it asserts man to have been 
originally created in a state of innocence. 
This presumption is here founded on our 
natural sentiments respecting the Divine 

z 4 



344 

Holiness. But in Sect. 8. it is mentioned? 
as another presumption in favour of Chris- 
tianity, that it asserts our fall from this state 
of innocence. Now this is a presumption 
founded on a matter *of fact, viz. that we 
are not now in the state before mentioned. 
These presumptions, then, mutually lend 
and borrow force from each other. The 
same presumption is also assisted by 
Sect. 20., which proceeds on the suitability 
of some atonement, as required by the pre- 
sent wants and convictions of our nature ; 
also with Sect. 22., which connects our 
state of moral trial with the propriety of a 
suffering Redeemer ; also with Sect. 31., 
which relates to the supposed universality 
of the Christian dispensation ; also with 
Sect. 41., which inculcates our dependance 
on the mercy of God, rather than on our 
own merits ; and with Sect. 46., which pro- 
poses the Christian Revelation as the most 
probable final cause of the creation. 

To mention another example, distinct 
from the former, it is shown, in Sect. 10., 
that Christianity derives some credibility 
from its general agreement with the facul- 



345 

ties of the human mind, and with our ex- 
ternal situations in the world. But in 
Sect. 14. the same agreement is still further 
shown by the relative manner in which the 
Deity is made known to us ; also in 
Sect. 15., by the appointment of a medi- 
ator ; also in Sect. 19., by its proposing 
the example of its founder to our imitation ; 
also in Sect. 20., by the atonement which 
it professes to offer for our sins ; also in 
Sect. 21., by its promise of spiritual aid; 
also in Sect. 23. and 24., by its confirma- 
tion of the immortality of the soul, and of 
a state of eternal rewards and punishments, 
&c. &c. But it is unnecessary to dw 7 ell 
longer on these particulars. Of the fol- 
lowing tables, the first shows the coinci- 
dences between the presumptions which 
are contained in the second part ; and the 
other compares the coincidences of these 
two parts together. 



346 



A Table of the Coincidences and Connections of the Pre- 
sumptive Arguments which are contained in the Second 
Part. 

Sect. 

1. and 2. The force of these presumptions is illustrated 

by every succeeding section. 
3._4. 5. 6. 7- 8. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 23. 

24. 25. 26. 28, &c. 
4,-6. 13. 16. 18. 20. 21. 22. 26. 28. 29. 30. 34. 35. 37. 

40. 45. 

5.-3. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13, &c. 

6.-2. 3. 4. 7. 8. 11. 12. 25. 28. 29. 30, 32. 35. 36. 

37. 40. 42. 44. 47. 

7.-2. 3. 5. 8. 9. 10. 11. 20. 23. 24. 26. 30. 31. 32. 36. 

38. 40. 41. 42. 47. 

8.-2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. 13. 14. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22, &c. 
9. — 3. 5. 6. 7- 8. 10., and by every succeeding section. 
10. — Consult every section. 
11.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. 12. 14. 21. 28. 30. 31. 32. 

36. 37. 38. 40. 41, &c. 
12.— 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 10. 11. 14. 15. 16. 19.20.21.22.23. 

24. 25. 30. 41. 47. 
13.— 3. 4. 11. 14. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 26. 30. 34. 

41. 42. 47. 

14.— 2. 3. 5. 9. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 22. 26. 29. 

30. 34. 45. 
15.— 2. 3. 5. 9. 10. 14. 16.18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 26. 

31. 32. 34. 41. 42. 47. 
16. — The same. 
17.__4. 6. 7. 13. 14. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20. 22. 26. 28. 30, 

45. 47. 



347 

Sect. 

J 8.— 4. 7. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 22. 23. 26. 27. 30. 34. 42. 

43. 46. 47. 
19.— 2. 3. 5. 7. 10. 14. 15. 16. 17- 18. 20. 22. 23. 26. 

27. 29. 30. 34. 42. 46. 
20.— 2. 4. 5. 7- S. 9. 10. 13. 14. L5. 16. 17. 18. 19. 22. 

24. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32, &c. 
21.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 12. 13. 14. 26. 30. 37. 38. 42. 45. 47. 
22.-5. 10. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20. 26. 45. 46. 47. 
23.-2. 4. 5. 10. 15. 16. 17- 18. 19. 20. 22. 24. 28. 29. 

30. 31. 32. 34. 42. 45. 46, &c. 
24.-2. 5. 7. 8. 23. 25. 31. 32. 33. 34. 42. 45. 47. 
25.-5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 23. 24. 31. 32. 47. 
26.-3. 4. 5. 10. 13. 15. 16. 1?. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 

24. 30. 42. 45. 47. 
27.-3. 5. 9. 10. 19. 20. 22. 26. 28. 29. 31. 34. 37. 46. 
28.— 1. 3. 4. 17. 27. 30. 
29.-2. 3. 5. 9. 10. 19. 21. 23. 24. 30. 31. 32. 34. 35. 

36. 37. 38. 42. 44. 45, &c. 
30.— 2. 4. 5. 10. 11. 12. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 26. 29. 34, 

35. 40. 42. 47* 
31.— 2. 5. 6. 7. S. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 15. 16. 19. 20. 21. 

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28, Sec. 
32. — The same. 

33.-5, 8. 9. 10. 24. 36. 37- 39. 43. 
34.-2. 3. 5. 9. 10. 11.14. 15.16.19.20.23.24.25.27. 

29. 30. 32. 37. 38. 45, &c. 
35.-2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12, &c. 
36.-3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 19. 22. 31. 32. 33. 35. 37. 38. 

39. 42. 44. 45. 47- 
37.-2. 4. 5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 20. 21. 23. 28. 29. 30. 31. 

32. 34. 35. 36. 38, &c. 
38.-2. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 31. 32. 34. 35. 36. 39. 40. 43. 45, 

46. 47. 
39.-2. 4. 5. 8. 9. 33. 35. 36. 37- 38. 40. 42. 43. 45 



Sect 






40.- 


-2. 


4, 6. 




36 


;. 37. 


41.- 


-2. 


5.7. 


42.- 


-5. 


6. 7. 




35 


. 36. 


43.- 


-2. 


3. 5. 




34 


. 35. 


44.- 


-4. 


18.1 


45.- 


-2. 


5. 6. 




23 


. 24. 


46.- 


-2. 


4. 5. 




26 


.27. 


47.- 


-2. 


5. 6. 




24 


. 25. 



348 

7. 8. 11. 20. 22. 23. 24. 25. 30. 31. 34. 35. 
38. 42. 47. 

8. 9. 10. 14. 15. 16. 20. 28. 31. 32. 34. 47. 
. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 19. 23. 24. 30. 34. 
38. 39. 41. 43. 45. 

6. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 19. 23. 24. 29. 30. 31. 
36. 38. 39, &c. 

9. 20. 22. 29. 30. 31. 39. 40. 46. 47. 

7. 8. 9. 10. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 
26. 29. 30, &c. 

10. 11. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 22. 23. 
30. 31. 32.40. 42, &c. 
7. 8. 11. 12. 14. 15. 16. 17. 20.21.22.23. 
26. 28. 29. 30. 31, &c. 



349 



A Table showing the Coincidences and Connections between 
the Second and the First Parts of the Work, 

Part II. Part I. 

'Land 2. These sections are more or less illustrated 

by every other. 
3.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7, &c. 

4.-4. 21. 23. 25. 26. 29. 31. 32. 33. 37. 43. 44. 46. 
5._2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9- 10. 11. 12. 16. 17. 18. 19, &c. 
6.-2. 3. 5. 6. 7- 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 19. 25. 

27. 28. 31. 32. 33. 34, &c. 
7.-2. 3, 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 

17. 18. 19, &c. 
8.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17, 

&c. 
9. — Passim. 
1 0. — Passim. 
11.— 5. 7- 20. 21. 22. 23. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 32. 33. 34, 

37. 38. 40. 41. 42, &c. 
12.— 5. 7. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 25. 26. 27. 28. 32.34.37. 

41.44, &c. 
13.— 3. 4. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 29. 32. 36. 44. 46. 
14.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 

32. 33. 34. 37. 38. 44. 
15.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 

29. 30. 34. 37. 44. 
16. — The same. 

17.—4. 7. 17. 18. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 29. 32. 33. 
18.— 4. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 29. 37- 43. 44. 
19.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 27. 31. 33, 

34. 37. 38. 43. 44. 
20.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16, 
&c. 



350 



Part II. Part I. 

21.— 2. 3. 4. 5. 17. 18. 19. 26. 29. 34. 37. 43. 44. 45. 46. 

22.-3. 4. 5. 7. 8. ». 10. 11. 12. 16. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22. 

23. 24. 25. 26. 29. 34. 37, &c. 
23.-2. 3. 4. 5. 16. 17. 18. 19. 23. 24. 25. 27. 28. 29. 

31. 33. 34. 37. 38. 41. 42, &c. 
24.-3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 16. 17- 18. 19. 25. 26. 

27. 28. 32. 33. 34. 37, &c. 
25.-3. 4. 5. 6. 12. 27. 28. 32. 33. 34. 39. 41. 46. 
26.-2. 3. 4. 5. 21. 22. 23. 25. 26. 27- 29. 32. 34. 35. 

36. 37. 43. 44. 45. 
27.-3. 5. 19. 22. 25. 30. 31. 33. 34. 37- 38. 40. 43. 44. 
28.-3. 4. 5. 6. 9. 10. 11. 12. 16. 22. 24. 30. 31. 32. 

34, 37. 38. 39. 40, &c. 
29.-2. 5. 6. 7- 8. 9. 10. 11. 12, &c. 
30.— 2. 4. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 31. 32. 

38, &c. 
31.— 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15, and 

throughout. 
32. — The same. 
33.-4. 5. 7. 8.9.10. 11. 12. 13. 14, 15. 16. 17. 18. 19., 

and throughout. 
34.-2. 3. 5., and more or less by every succeeding 

section. 
35.-2. 3. 4. 5, &c. 
36.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 16. 17. 19. 20. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 32. 

33. 34. 35, &c. 

37.-4. 5. 6. 20. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 

41. 42. 43, &c. 
38.-2. 3. 4. 5. 6, &c. 16. 17. 18. 19. 24. 27. 28. 31. 

34. 35. 36. 37. 38, &c. 

39.-3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17- 1% 

8cc. 
40.— 4. 5. 6. 7. 8, &c. 16, &c. 

15 



351 

Part IT. Part I. 

41. — 3. 4. 5. 6. 7» 8., and more or less by every section, 

42.-2. 3. 4. 6. 7, &c. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 22. 24. 25. 

26. 27. 28, &c. 
43.-3. 4. 5. 6. 7? &c. 16. 17- 19. 20, &c. 
44.__4. 23. 25. 31. 32. 35. 36. 38. 39. 40. 41. 43. 46. 
45.-2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 17. 18. 19. 21. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28, 

&c. 
46.-2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 16. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 

29. 30. 31. 32. 33, &c. 
47.-2. 4. 6. 7. 8, &c. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. 22, 

23. 24. 25, &c. 



353 

NOTES 

AND 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

It may be proper to offer a few remarks on an 
attack which has been lately made by a popular 
living writer, on the propriety of employing 
presumptive reasoning on the subject of Reve- 
lation. Dr. Chalmers, in his volume on the 
Evidences of Christianity, has thought fit 
to disclaim altogether the authority of that 
species of evidence which is here brought for- 
ward to illustrate the truth and wisdom of 
Christianity. He deems it inconsistent with the 
sober spirit of inductive science to enter upon 
any other enquiries on this subject, than those 
which relate to the historical facts of the 
Christian Revelation. 

As this is a grave charge, which directly 
affects the value and solidity of the evidence 
which is here adduced, I shall make no apology 

A A 



354 

for considering the grounds on which it rests. 
But, first, we may remind the eloquent author, 
that he stands convicted of error by subsequently 
employing this kind of evidence in his " Dis- 
courses on the Christian Revelation, as viewed 
in connection with Modern Astronomy." Nor 
do his high commendations of Bishop Butler's 
Analogy, in his former treatise, appear very 
consistent with a line of argument which, if cor- 
rect, would entirely destroy the value of that 
inestimable work. 

The charge itself rests upon the following 
assertion, " that we have experience of man, 
but no experience of God." If this assertion 
were correct, we should indeed allow the whole 
of the argument. But is it true, that creation 
has afforded us no experience of God's dealings 
with mankind ? Are not the attributes of the 
Deity engraven upon Nature? Is not his in- 
visible power and godhead discoverable by the 
things which we see and witness around us ? 

But we may ask still more pertinently, Is not 
the finger of the Creator to be seen in the work- 
manship of man ? Are not his moral attributes 
to be traced in the formation of our minds, in 
the disposition of our faculties, and in his treat- 
ment of us as moral and accountable agents ? 

Surely, if we may venture — as this author 
admits — to decide upon that internal evidence 
15 



355 

by which we judge of the candour and veracity 
of the agents who were employed in the con- 
struction of Christianity, " if we feel and under- 
stand the powerful evidence which lies in the 
time, the manner, the circumstances, the num- 
ber, and the agreement of the witnesses," we 
may also with equal propriety collate the dif- 
ferent parts of the Divine administration ; we 
may compare our experience as men with our 
treatment as Christians ; we may point out the 
correspondences which subsist between faith and 
reason, and trace the conformity of that style 
and manner which may so reasonably be ex- 
pected to pervade the works of the same Author, 
when they are addressed to the same readers, 
and conducive to the same general intentions. 

Much, therefore, as we are disposed to ap- 
prove of this writer's observations on that high 
a priori spirit which would substitute speculation 
for fact, and the ease and pride of dogmatism 
for the labour and humility of induction, yet 
we cannot but suspect that he has rather mis- 
taken the bearing of his argument when he 
would attempt to show that it is altogether illo- 
gical to compare the phenomena of nature and 
the rules of God's providential government with 
the administration of his spiritual kingdom. If 
it be true, as Dr. Chalmers admits, that the in- 
ductive philosophy has been successfully applied 
aa 2 



356 

to intellectual subjects by Reid and Stewart, 
surely we may make use of this philosophy in 
our illustrations of the Christian Revelation. A 
well-arranged series of observations on the coin- 
cidences of natural and revealed religion, an 
enquiry into the constitution of the human mind 
as connected with the principles and doctrines 
of Christianity, is as much dependent on the 
spirit of inductive science as any other observ- 
ations which depend on a diligent investigation 
and comparison of facts. It is a collection of 
real phenomena adduced in behalf of Christi- 
anity to show there are plain and visible marks 
of resemblance between these two dispensations. 
There is this peculiar advantage, indeed, con- 
nected with this kind of reasoning, that it relates 
immediately to these faculties which must be 
equally employed about the works and the word 
of God, and which may therefore be reasonably 
supposed to bear a corresponding analogy to 
both. 

But the great argument against denying a 
legitimate use of reason in judging of the doc- 
trines as well as of the evidences of Christianity, 
arises out of the manifest dangers with which 
we are menaced unless some scope may be here 
allowed to our intellectual faculties. How is 
our religion to be esteemed a reasonable service., 
if it is to be sullenly admitted upon the force of 



357 

mere authority ? How can we confute the obr 
jections of Deists against the reasonableness of 
these docrrines, unless we are allowed to judge 
of their reasonableness ? How can we put down 
the errors of enthusiasts, unless we may con- 
fute them by rational as well as by scriptural 
arguments? The use of reason is not to be 
denied in matters of religion, because unbe- 
lievers would use it irrationally; nor can it 
answer any good purpose to exalt the historical 
evidences of Revelation at the expense of those 
moral convictions which are equally valuable 
and equally necessary to establish its credibility. 
To all, indeed, who reflect upon the nature of 
man, this division of the evidences of Christi- 
anity, does but correspond to the two great 
constituent parts of our humanity. To dispute 
whether the external or the internal proofs of 
Revelation be the more important, is but, in 
other words, to dispute whether the will or the 
intellect, the heart or the understanding, be the 
most essential principles of human nature. Such 
a controversy is equally useless and unphiloso- 
phical ; both make up the system of our facul- 
ties ; both are concerned in our reception of 
moral evidence. We may apply to them the 
observation which was made upon our closest 
domestic connections, — " That which God hath 
a a 3 



358 

joined together, let no man attempt to put 
asunder." * 

Let every kind of evidence be estimated in a 
proper manner : this is to act up to the spirit of 
the Baconian logic : not to depreciate moral evi- 
dence because it is not of the same nature as 
that of external facts, but to allow every species 
of truth its proper and relative value.t Sad, 
indeed, would be the situation of Christianity 
if it were thus cut off from all association with 
moral conviction ; for then the great bulk of the 
people could never become persuaded of its 
truth. " What is the ground," asks Bishop 
Horsley, " upon which the faith of the generality 
of Christians, in the present ages, is built, who 
all believe what they have not seen ? I say of 
the generality of Christians ; for whatever it 
may be which gives faith its merit in the sight 
of God, it is surely to be looked for, not in any 
thing peculiar to the faith of the learned, but 
in the common faith of the plain illiterate be- 
liever. What then is the ground of his convic- 
tion ? Is it the historical evidence of the facts 
recorded in the gospels ? Perhaps no facts of an 

* See the connection and consistency of these kinds of 
evidence, admirably illustrated by Dr.Tatham in his " Chart 
and Scale of Truth," particularly chap. 10. and 11. vol i. 

f See Tatham's Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. i. p. 73. 



359 

equal antiquity may boast an historical evidence 
equally complete, and without some degree of 
this evidence, there would be no faith. Yet 
it is but a branch of the proof; and, if I mis- 
take not, far from the most considerable part ; 
for the whole evidence lies open but to a small 
proportion of the Christian world, &c. " What 
then," he continues, " is the great foundation of 
proof to those who are little read in history, 
and are ill qualified to decypher prophecy, 
and compare it with the original records of man- 
kind ? Plainly this, which the learned and the 
ignorant may equally comprehend ; the intrinsic 
excellence of the doctrines and the purity of 
the precept ; a doctrine which conveys to the 
rudest understandings, just and exalted notions 
of the Divine perfections ; exacts a worship 
purged of all hypocrisy and superstition, the 
most adapted to the nature of him who offers, 
the most worthy (if ought can be worthy) of 
the Being that accepts it ; prescribes the most 
rational duties, things intrinsically the best and 
the most conducive to private and public good ; 
proposes rewards adequate to the vast desires 
and capacities of the rational soul ; promises 
mercy to infirmity, without indulgence to vice - 9 
holds out pardon to the penitent offender, in 
that particular way, which secures to a frail 
imperfect race the blessings of a mild govern- 
aa 4 



360 

inent, and secures to the majesty of Heaven all 
the useful ends of punishment ; and builds this 
scheme of redemption on a history of man and 
providence ; of man's original corruption, and 
the various interpositions of providence for his 
gradual recovery ; which clears up many per- 
plexing questions respecting the origin of evil ; 
the unequal distribution of present happiness 
and misery ; and the disadvantage on the side of 
virtue in this constitution of things, which seems 
inexplicable on any other principles."* 

I need offer no apology for the length of this 
quotation, since it precludes the necessity of 
any further reply. It would be in vain to at- 
tempt to sum up the names of the numerous 
authors who have written on this subject, all of 
whom, either partially or tacitly, admit the pro- 
priety of using such evidence in favour of Chris- 
tianity. See however, Locke's Reasonableness 
of Christianity ; Madame* s Letters to Jenyns, 
Letters ii. and hi. ; Beattie's Evidences, vol. ii. 
sect. 4. ; Simpson's Internal Evidence of Chris- 
tianity ; Bishop Chandler's Introduction to his 
Defence of Christianity ; Clarke's Evidence of 
Natural arid Revealed Religion, prop. xiii. ; 
Watson's Popular Evidences, part. ii. ; Jenkin 
on Christianity, vol.i. ch. 18.; Pa ley's Evidences, 

* Horsley's Sermons, vol. iii. p. 246 — 249. 



361 

vol. ii. part 2. ; Warburton's Divine Legation, 
book 9. c. 5. ; Leland, vol. i. ch. 22. and vol. ii. 
ch. 13. ; Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, part 2. 
ch. 5. and ch. 8. ; Porteus's Evidences, prop. 5. 
and 6. ; Fitm Mildert's Boyle's Lectures, vol. ii. 
p. 219, 221. and Appendix, p. 42—47. 

For more accurate information on that species 
of argument which is here brought forward to 
illustrate Christianity, I would beg leave to 
refer to the masterly Introduction of Bishop 
Butler to his Analogy ; also to the works of Bishop 
Brown on " the Procedure, Extent, and Limits 
of the Human Understanding," and to his 
elaborate treatise, entitled " Things Divine and 
Supernatural conceived by Analogy with things 
Natural and Human" * There are many valuable 
remarks in the works of Dr. Reid on this kind 
of Evidence. See also Tatham's Chart and Scale 
of Truth, vol. i. sect. 3. chap. 4. p. 54. See 
vol. i. book 1. chap. 1. Also in Bonnet's En- 
quiries concerning Christianity, essay 1. ch. 4.; 
also vol. ii. essay 7. ch. 3. But the most va- 
luable observations which have lately been given 
to the public on the subject of analogical rea- 
soning, are to be found in vol. ii. ch. 4. sect. 4. 
of Professor Stewart's Philosophy of the Human 
Mind. See also Locke, book 4. ch. 16. and 17. 

* This work is by mistake attributed to Bishop Butler 
in Tatham's Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. i, p. 56. 



362 

Buffer's First Truths, part 1. ; Beattie's Essay 
on Truth, part 1. ch. 2. sect. 6. and 7- There 
are some excellent reasonings upon analogy as 
applicable to the Christian Revelation in Fel- 
ton's Vindication of the Christian Faith, p. 200 — 
237. Also in Bishop Law's Notes on King's 
Origin of Evil, ch. 1. sect. 3. See also Fuller's 
" Gospel its own Witness," part 2. ch. 5. Also 
in Bishop Fowler's " Design of Christianity," 
reprinted in Watson's Theological Tracts. 

Upon the nature and extent of the connec- 
tions of natural and revealed religion, the reader 
may consult with advantage the following autho- 
rities : — Balguy's Moral Tracts, p. 383 — 405. ; 
Sherlock's Discourses, vol. iii. serm. xiii. p. 318. ; 
also vol. iv. p. 140. ; also Bishop Taylor's Pre- 
face to his Life of Christ ; Scott's Christian Life, 
vol. ii. chap. 2. ; Locke on Human Understand- 
ing, book iv. chap. 18. ; Warburton's Divine 
Legation, vol. ii. book 3. ; Leland's Introductory 
Discourse to his admirable work on the Advan- 
tage and Necessity of the Christian Revelation ; 
Bishop Wilkin's Natural Religion ; Bishop 
Gastrell's Sermons at Boyle's Lectures ; Bishop 
Leng's ditto - y and Clarke's Evidences of Natural 
and Revealed Religion; More's Euchiridion 
Ethicum, &c. 

The analogy of Christianity to the natural and 
moral government of the world is shown by Simp- 



363 



son in his " Internal Evidences" part ii. ch. 3. 
sect. 2. ; Warburton's Divine Legation, book ix. 
ch. 1. p. 77- The great advantage of con- 
necting the doctrines of Christianity with our 
rational and moral faculties, is shown by Grove 
in the introduction to his Moral Philosophy, 
vol. i. p. 1 — 50. See also Tatham's Chart and 
Scale of Truth, vol. ii. ch. 2. " The real use of 
natural theology," says Mr. Sumner, " is to show 
the strong probability of that being true which 
Revelation declares." See his Records of the 
Creation, preface. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Part L No. 1. 

On the Possibility of a Revelation. 

u That there is nothing directly absurd or 
contradictory to reason, in the supposition of 
the possibility of a revelation given from God, 
for the information and improvement of man- 
kind, is evident, from its having been the 
opinion and the hope of the wisest and best 
of mankind, in all ages, and in various nations. 
Socrates, Plato, Confucius, and others, the 
bright and shining lights of antiquity, have 
given their authority to the opinions of the pro- 
bability of a revelation from God." — Burgh 9 s 
Dignity of Human Nature, book iv. p. 320. 

" That God can, if he thinks fit, make a 
revelation of himself and his will to man, in an 
extraordinary way different from the discove- 
ries made by themselves, in the more natural 
and ordinary use of their own natural faculties 
and persons, appears to be so evident, that I do 
not see how any man who believes in God and 



365 

Providence, can reasonably deny it : for if the 
power of God be almighty, it must extend to 
whatever does not imply a contradiction, which 
cannot be pretended in this case." Leland's 
Advantage and Necessity of Revelation, vol. i. 
Introductory discourse. " Infinite power, though 
it does not extend to contradictions, performs 
with ease whatever is possible in its nature." 
Farmer, on Miracles, chap. i. sect. 2. " Nothing 
can be possible to which there is not some 
corresponding power that might effect it." 
King's Origin of Evil, chap. 1. sect. 3. See 
also Locke on Human Understanding, bookiv, 
chap. 7« sect. 7. ; Law on Space, chap. 1. ; also 
chap. 7« sect. 7- ; Doddridge's Lectures, Propo- 
sition 91.; Clarke's Evidence of Natural and 
Revealed Religion, p. 194.; Leng's Sermons at 
Boyle's Lectures, p. 324 — 334. also Leland's 
Deistical Writers, vol. i. letter 1. and vol. ii. 
letter 36. ; also against Tindal, vol. i. introduce 
The possibility of a divine revelation has been 
generally admitted by infidel writers : — thus 
Morgan allows, "that God may, if he thinks 
fit, communicate his will by immediate inspi- 
ration, or superior illumination ; yea, and that 
what he thus communicates, may come with 
evidence equal to a mathematical demonstra- 
tion," See Leland, vol. i. letter 10. The same 
is allowed by Mr, Chubb, See letter 13. p. %2%* 



366 

Also by Bolingbroke, vol. ii. letter 27. The 
possibility of a revelation is shown by Butler, 
in his Boyle's Lectures, towards the end. Also 
by Ibbot, serm. 2. at the same lectures. Also by 
Williams in his first sermon at ditto ; Tatham's 
Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. ii. p. 15—17 5 
Jenkins on Christianity, vol. ii. part 1. ch. i. 



No. 2. 

On tJw Desirableness of a Revelation. 

Upon the subject of this chapter, seeBeattie's 
Evidences of the Christian Religion, chap. 1. 
Also Doddridge's Lectures, propositions 92 and 
93., in which it is shown, that the circumstances 
of mankind are such as to render a divine 
revelation highly expedient and desirable, and 
that there is some reason to hope that God 
would grant such assistance. See also Foster 
against Tindal, ch. 1. 

There are numerous passages cited by Bishop 
Leng in his twelfth sermon, p. 363 — 371. also 
p. 490 — 492., to show that the ancients greatly 
desired the aid of a revelation. Others are to be 
found collected by Clarke, in his Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, proposition 7- 
p. 153. Also by Leland, in his Necessity and 
Advantage of Revelation, vol. i. ch. 21. ; Baxter's 



367 

Reasons of Christianity, part 2. ch. 1. The 
obligations which lie upon a serious Deist to 
enquire into the truth of a revelation, are stated 
by Bishop Leng, p. 18 — 25. ; also in his tenth 
Sermon, p. 292. 

The various difficulties of attaining religious 
truth, by means of abstract reasoning, are 
pointed out by Clarice, in his Evidences of Na- 
tural and Revealed Religion, prop. 5. 6. and 7- 
See also Barrow's Sermons, vol. ii. serm. 13. 
The expediency of a revelation is shown by 
Williams in his first sermon at Boyle's Lee- 
iures ; Bonne fs Enquiries concerning Christ- 
ianity, book 1. chap. 2. The needfulness of a 
revelation is shown by Bishop Cony bear e, 
vol. ii. serm. 5., also in his Defence of Revealed 
Religion, chap. 7- ; Porteus's Evidences, prop. 1. 
See also Whitby on the Necessity and Usefulness 
of the Christian Revelation, a valuable work, 
though little known. 

No. 3. 

On the Teachableness of the Human Mind, as 
affording a Substratum for the Evidence of a 
Revelation, 

For a confirmation of the general doctrines 
which are here advanced, I would beg leave to 
refer the reader to the first and second books of 



368 

Locke on Human Understanding ; also to Ellis's 
Knowledge of Divine Things, chap. 2. 3. and 4., 
who has treated this subject with the greatest 
acuteness and originality. See also Skelton's 
Deism Revealed, vol i. dialogue the second. 
" Nam neque tarn acris acies in naturis hominum 
et ingeniis, ut res tantas quisquam, nisi monstratas, 
possit videre ; neque tanta tamen obscuritas, 
ut eas non penitus acri vir ingenio cernat, si 
modo adspexerit." Cic. de Or at lib. iii. c. 31. See 
Bishop Leng's 6th Sermon at Boyle's Lectures, 
in which this subject is discussed with great 
ability ; also Leland's Advantage and Necessity 
of Revelation, vol. i. ch. 1. and vol. ii. part 2. 
ch. 1. ; also Felton's Vindication of the Christian 
Faith, p. 48 — 67.; Jenkin on the Christian Religion, 
vol. i. p. 407. &c. ; also Conybeare's Defence of 
Revealed Religion, p. 363 — 374. Concerning 
that principle of the human mind by which we 
are disposed to rely upon the testimony of 
others, see Dr. Reid's Enquiry, ch. 6. sect. 24., 
Essays, vol. ii. ch. 5. c. 10. ; Beattie on Truth, 
part i. ch. 2. sect. 8. ; Buffer's First Truth, 
part i. ch. 19. ; Smith's Moral Sentiments, part vii. 
sect. 4. y Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric, 
book i. ch. 5. sect. 3. ; Campbell's Essay on 
Miracles, part. i. sect. 1. ; Stewart's Outlines of 
Moral Philosophy, p. 270. Elements of the 
Philosophy of the Human Mind, vol.ii. p. 251. 

10 



869 

Also Price's Review of the Question of Morals, 
p. 151 — 170. ; and TatharrCs Chart and Scale of 
Truth, vol. i. ch. 10., where this subject is treated 
with great acuteness. 

A revelation being necessarily founded in 
faith upon the Divine veracity, applies itself to 
those principles of the human mind whereby 
we are disposed to repose faith in testimony, 
and to be sincere in our mutual communi- 
cations. " That there is," says Stewart on the 
Human Mind, " a natural or instinctive prin- 
ciple of veracity, has been remarked by many 
authors j and there is a corresponding principle 
determining us to repose faith in testimony, 
which bears a striking analogy, both in its 
origin and its final cause, to our instinctive ex- 
pectation of the continuance of the physical 
laws of nature." * This latter principle, which 
is by nature unlimited, we afterwards learn to 
correct in the progress of reason and experience. 
But as applied to our reliance upon the Divine 
veracity, it needs no such correction j and there- 
fore it always remains in its original force ; the 
sole enquiry being confined to the evidences of 
such revelation, and not to the credit which is 
due to the author of this revelation, supposing 
it to be real. See Whitby on the Necessity of 
Revelation, p. 45. 

|* Outlines of Moral Philosophy, sect. 377—379. 
B B 



870 

These remarks will, I trust, be sufficient to 
show, that we are justified in connecting the evi- 
dences of Christianity with the principles of the 
inductive philosophy of the human mind; and 
that we are not mistaken in our hope of having 
opened a new and valuable species of presumptive 
argument in favour of revelation. Should this 
alliance betwixt faith and philosophy be founded 
on just and equitable principles, it will con- 
duce equally to the advantage of the contract- 
ing parties : whilst it imparts solidity to our 
intellectual enquiries, it will bestow additional 
force and accuracy on our arrangements of 
the moral and historical proofs of our divine 
religion. 

No. 4. 

Upon the Evidence required to authenticate a 
Revelation. 

" In what way can a revelation be made 
known but by miracles? In none which we 
are able to conceive. Consequently, in what- 
ever degree it is probable, or not very impro- 
bable, that a revelation should be communi- 
cated to mankind at all, in the same degree it is 
probable, or not very improbable, that miracles 
should be wrought. Therefore, when miracles 



371 

are related to have been wrought, in the pro- 
mulgation of a revelation manifestly wanted, 
and, if true, of inestimable value, the impro- 
bability which arises from the miraculous na- 
ture of the things related is not greater than the 
original improbability that such a revelation 
should be imparted by God." Paley's Evi- 
dences, vol. i. p. 8. 

That miracles are the proper evidences of 
revealed religion, as distinguished from natural, 
is shown by Chandler, in his Vindication of 
Christ. Relig. part i. ch. %. See also Leng's 
13th and 14th Sermons at Boyle 9 s Lectures; and 
Clarke's Evidences of Nat. and Rev. Relig. 
prop. 9. and prop. 14. ; Bp. Sherlock 9 s Discourses, 
vol. i. Serm. 10. ; Hartley's Observations on 
Man, vol. ii. ch. 2. prop. 28. ; Leland against 
Tindal, vol. ii. ch. 3. also against Morgan, ch. i. ; 
Chandler's Sermons, vol. i. Serm. 4. ; Rogers's 
Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 4. and 5. ; Simpson's In- 
ternal Evidences, part ii. ch. 1. and 2. ; Lord 
Hale's Primitive Origination, sect. iv. ch. 7« ; 
Doddridge's 105 Lecture ; Stillingfleef s Origines 
Sacrce, book ii. ch. 9. ; Butler's Analogy, part ii. 
ch. 2. and ch. 4. ; also Price's Dissert, on Pro- 
vidence, p. 72 — 84. ; Campbell on Miracles, part i. 
sect. 5. and part 2. sect. 1. ; Cudworth's Intel- 
lectual System, p. 706 — 710. ; Brown against 
Tindal, p. 103.; Foster against Tindal, p. 61 — 64. 

b b 2 



372 

On the tradition of the ancients concerning 
miracles, see Barrow's Works, vol. ii. Serm. 9. ; 
Gurdon's Boyle's Lectures, Serm. xii. p. 338 — 
341. 

As to the necessity of some internal evi- 
dence, distinct from miracles, accompanying 
any revelation, see the following authors : Dod- 
dridg^s Lectures, prop. 95. " It may be seen 
that a divine revelation can contain nothing 
which is apparently contrary to the light of 
nature j because that is the law of God, and 
he is too wise and too faithful to contradict 
himself." So Butler : " If in any revelation 
there be found any passages, the seeming mean- 
ing of which is contrary to natural religion, we 
may most certainly conclude such seeming 
meaning not to be the real one." Analogy, 
part ii. ch. 1. The same subject is treated by 
Clarke, in his Evidences of Nat. and Rev. Relig. 
prop. 9. ; also by Duchal in his Presumptive 
Evidences of the Christ. Relig. Serm. ii. ; also by 
Skelton in his Deism Revealed, Dialogue 6. ; 
also Leng's Sermons, p. 409. That Bishop 
Horsley was of the same opinion, is evident 
from his 42d Sermon, vol. iii. : " This excel- 
lence of the Christian doctrine, considered in 
itself, as without it no external evidence of reve- 
lation could be sufficient, so it gives to those who 
are qualified to perceive it, that internal proba- 



373 

bability to the whole scheme, which the external 
evidence, in that proportion of it in which it 
may be supposed to be understood by common 
men, may be well allowed to be complete." 
p. 249. See also Locke on Human Understand- 
ing, book iv. ch. 18. sect. 5. and the Intro- 
ductory Note in reply to Dr. Chalmers's Evi- 
dences of the Christian Revelation ; Bonnet's Phi- 
losophical Enquiries concerning Christianity, ch. 8. 
book 5. ; Gonybeare's Defence of Revealed Re- 
ligion, p. 302. 

No-. 5. 
Agreement with the Circumstances of Mankind. 

Upon the wonderful agreement which sub- 
sists between the doctrine of Scripture and 
the wants and requirements of human nature, 
I cannot do better than refer the reader to the 
admirable observations of Mr. Bates, in the se- 
cond section of his Rural Philosophy. See also 
Clarke's Evidences of Nat. and Rev. Religion, 
prop. 10 — 13. Concerning the evidence with 
which a revelation would be probably attended, 
see Doddridge's Lectures, prop. 95. and 97- 
1st, He says, it can contain nothing contra- 
dictory to the light of nature: 2dly, it would 
confirm the most important doctrines of natural 
religion; particularly assuring us of the method 

B B 3 



374 

of pardon for our sins : 3dly, it would discover 
some doctrines not attainable by natural reason^ 
but in nowise inconsistent with it : 4thly, it 
would hint at some new discoveries concerning 
the Divine Being : 5thly, that it would oil 
the whole be plain and intelligible : 6thly, that 
it would promote virtuous practice : 7thly, that 
it would humble human pride. Such are the 
internal evidences with which he thinks such a 
revelation would be attended. The following 
are stated by him as amongst its probable ex- 
ternal attestations : 1st, that it would be pub- 
lished by men of eminent piety and virtue : 
2dly, that some superior spirit would be em- 
ployed as its messenger : 3dly, that it should be 
attended with beneficial miracles : 4thly, that it 
would be published by those who could lend it no 
political influence : 5thly, that it would be gra- 
dual and progressive : 6thly, that it should 
amaze by its rapid success at its first promul- 
gation : ?thly, that when its miracles ceased, 
other and sufficient moral and historical evi- 
dences should supply their place : 8thly, that 
part of its evidences should arise from its op- 
ponents. — That Christianity is fitted to a state of 
trial, see Atterbury's Sermons, vol. iii. Serm. 6., 
and the authors referred to in No. 56. " That 
scheme which best pursues the great design 
and end of nature, discernible in the formation 



375 

of all men, is most likely to proceed from the 
Author of nature," &c. See the Introduction to 
Bishop Chandler* s Vindication of his Defence of 
Christianity, p. 9 — 16. ; also Sumner* s Records 
of the Creation, vol. ii. part 3., where this sub- 
ject is treated with much ability. 



No. 6. 

A Revelation at the first Creation. 

The probability of a Revelation at the first 
creation of man, is shown by Felton, in his 
Vindication of the Christian Faith, p. 92. That 
both PuffendorfF and Grotius were of this opi- 
nion may be seen in Leland f s Advantage of 
Revelation, vol. ii. part %. chap. 2. It may also 
be deduced from the admissions of Lord Bo~ 
lingbroke, who thought, that without such 
Revelation, the first race of mankind would 
have involuntarily sunk into Polytheism. " The 
variety of the phenomena which struck their 
senses," he says, " would lead them to 
imagine a variety of causes." — See Leland 9 s 
Deistical Writers, vol. ii. p. 49. " Can it be 
reasonably imagined," asks Dr. Van Mildert, 
" that Adam was left (even in his primeval 
condition, when his faculties were unclouded by 
sin and corruption,) to acquire the knowledge 
b b 4 



376 

of his Creator, from such proofs only as the 
light of nature could afford him ? Or that he 
was suffered to remain in a state of uncertainty 
and conjecture, respecting the continuance of 
his being, his future destination, the purposes of 
his creation, the duties which he had to per- 
form, the happiness provided for him, or the 
means of attaining it ? On all these points, so 
essential to his comfort and well-being, must we 
not necessarily conclude that he derived in- 
struction immediately from the fountain of 
wisdom ? 55 — Van Milder fs Sermons at Boyle 9 s 
Lecture, vol. ii. p. 55. See also Grew's Cos- 
mologia Sacra, book iv. ch. 5. ; also Bishop 
Stillingfleefs Origines Sacrae, vol. ii. p. 232. ; 
also Bishop Leng's 5th and 6th, 10th, 11th, and 
12th Sermons, which show, that the ancient 
philosophers believed the first religion was 
derived immediately from God ; see also his 
eleventh Sermon, p. 331. ; also Hartley on Man, 
vol. ii. p. 15. and p. 138., with Pistorius's Notes ; 
see also Bishop Butler's Analogy, part ii. ch. 1. 
and 2. ; Ellis's Knowledge of Divine Things ; 
Gale's Court of the Gentiles, part i. ; Law's 
Theory of Religion, part ii. ; Leland's View of 
Deistical Writers, vol. ii. letter 36. The fol- 
lowing are the sensible observations of Shuck- 
ford : — " If Adam, or any other person of 
extraordinary learning, had, by a chain of 



377 

reasoning, brought these truths into the world, 
some hints, or other arguments, would have 
remained, as well as the truths produced by 
it, or some succeeding author would, at one 
time or another, have reasoned as fortunately 
as his predecessor. But nothing of this sort 
happened. Instead of it, we find that the early 
ages had a great stock of truths, of which they 
were so far from having learning to invent, that 
they could not so much as give the true mean- 
ing of them." See also Ritchie on Revelation, 
vol. i. p. 144 — 156. ; Leland's Advantage and 
Necessity of Revelation, part i. ch. 2, " That 
God from the beginning gave mankind some 
rule or law for their conduct," is allowed by 
Tindal, Christianity as old as the Creation, p. 3 — 5 9 
Lord Bolingbroke admits that Plato insinuates 
frequently the want of a Divine Revelation.— 
See his Works, vol. 5. p. 214—216. 4to. 



No. 7. 

Was not Man created innocent ? 

" That we came not originally in so imper- 
feet a state out of the hands of our Creator, is 
highly probable from the deductions of reason : 
it is certain from Revelation. Upon the part of 
reason alone, if we should suppose man to be 



378 

weak, compared with any higher order of 
intellectual beings, yet we cannot suppose him 
wicked. God's goodness made him not, nor 
was obliged to make him, as an angel, either in 
the manner or the measure of his faculties ; but 
the goodness of God was engaged to create him 
innocent, that is, perfect according to his nature, 
and the rank which he held in the order and 
scale of beings. — Felton's Vindication of the 
Christian Faith, p. 74. &c. See also Clarke's 
Sermons, vol. xi. Serm. 13. Also Leland's 
Answer to Tindal ; "It is certain that, if we 
judge by all appearance, human nature is now 
in a very degraded state. The wisest men 
amongst the heathens have owned and com- 
plained of it, and have puzzled themselves to 
account for it. It seems most reasonable, and 
most for the honour of God, to suppose, that the 
nature of man was originally in a more sound 
and healthful condition. 5 ' — Ch. iii. p. 34 — 41. 
See also Lucas on Happiness, vol. i. ch. 2. ; see 
also Clarke's " Enquiry into the Origin of Evil," 
p. 417. in which he shows that many of the 
ancients concluded against the world's having 
been created by God in its present state of 
manifold disorder. Also Balguy's Letter to a 
Deist, p. 319. ; also Barrow's Sermons, vol. ii 
Serm. 7. ; also Clarke's Evidences of Natural and 
Revealed Religion, sect. 6. p. 189. ; Butler's 



379 



Analogy, part i. chap. 5. ; Watts' s Ruin and 
Recovery ; Introduction to Gray's Connection of 
Sacred and Profane Literature, ch. 14. ; Burgh's 
Dignity of Human Nature, p. 344. ; Nichols's 
First Conference with a Theist, part ii. vol. ii. 
p. 32. ; Gale's Court of the Gentiles, vol. i. book 3. 
chap. 4. " The heathen philosophers were sen- 
sible that human nature was much declined 
from its primitive rectitude, and sunk into a 
weak, drooping, and sickly state, which they 
called TrlsppopvYjcris'*, the moulting of the wings of 
the soul. But they were so just and reasonable 
as not to charge this upon God, but upon some 
corruption and impurity, contracted by the soul 
in a former state, before its union with the body. 
For the descent of the soul into their gross 
earthly bodies, they looked upon partly as the 
punishment of faults committed in a former 
state, and partly as the opportunity of a new 
trial, in order to its purgation and recovery. 
And this was the best account they were able to 
give of this matter, without the light of Divine 
Revelation." — Tillotson's Sermon, 28. voL i. 
p. 255. ; Seed's Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 4. ; Gale's 
Court of the Gentiles, vol. ii. book 3. p. 344. 

* Upon the force of this word, see Spencer's Notes toOrigen 
contra Celsum, lib. 4. p. 191 Edit. Cantab. 1677. 



880 j 

No. 8. 
Fall of Man possible from his Free- Agency* 

It is absolutely necessary, that intelligent 
beings should have scope given for action. 
There is a plain congruity in making their hap- 
piness to arise from the proper use of their 
powers, and to be the result of their own endea- 
vours. This is the only happiness that can suit 
the nature of an active and free creature. Had 
they no command over events — were their states 
so immutably fixed, as not to be liable to be 
affected by one another, the consequence would 
be, that they would have nothing to do, that 
their faculties would be given them in vain, 
that virtue would be totallv excluded from 
creation, and an universal stagnation, or quiet- 
ism, take place in it." Price's Dissertations, 
ch. 4. and ch. 9. See also A. Bi King's Sermon 
on the Fall; Butler's Analogy, part. 1. ch. 4. 
Upon the various traditions of the Fall to be 
found in heathen writers, see Gale's Court of the 
Gentiles, vol. i. lib. 3. ch. 5. " Free-agency, in 
its very essence, contains liability to abuse ; yet 
if you deprive a man of his free-agency, you 
subvert his nature. You may have order from 
him, and regularity, as you may have from the 



381 

tides, or trade winds, but you put an end to his 
moral character, to virtue, to merit, to account- 
ableness, to the use indeed of reason." Paley 9 s 
Natural Theology, ch. 26. See also Berkeley's 
Alciphron, dialogue 6. sect. 12. ; also Reid 9 s 
Essays, vol. iii. Essay 4. ; also Burgh 9 s Dignity 
of Human Nature, p. 219. j Bishop Watson 9 s 
Sermon on the Fall, vol. i. Serm. 4. " Why, it 
may be asked, did not God make Adam inca- 
pable of sinning ? This question may be an- 
swered by another, is it possible to make a free- 
agent incapable of sinning ?" p. 425 — 430. See 
King's Origin of Evil, ch. 5. sect. 2. and sub- 
sect. 7- " It is impossible to say how much the 
first fully overt act of irregularity might disorder 
the inward constitution, unsettle the adjustment, 
and alter the proportions which formed our 
nature, and in which the uprightness of its 
make consisted," &c. See Butler *s Analogy, 
part 1. ch. 5. ; Van Milder? s Sermons at Boyle 9 s 
Lectures, vol. i. p. 32. The liability of free- 
agency to abuse of its faculties, is shown at 
large by Dr. /. Clarke in the second volume of 
his Enquiry into the Origin of Evil, p. 122., 
also p. 294. ; Conybeare's Defence of Revealed 
Religion, p. 149 — 154. " A Deo tantiim ra- 
tionem habemus ; bonam autem rationem aut 
non bonam, a nobis. Vide Cic. de Nat. Deorum, 
lib. 3. c. 29. 



382 



No. 9. 

Fall of Man probable from the Contradictions 
which exist between Reason and Passion. 

The following passages from ancient writers 
are sufficient to show, that mankind, in all ages, 
have virtually acknowledged the doctrine of the 
Fall. " Nemo invenitur, qui se possit absol- 
vere ; et innocentem quisque se dicit, respiciens 
testem, non conscientiam." Seneca de Ira, 
lib. 1. cap. 14. " Animi labes nee diuturnitate 
evanescere, nee amnibus ullis elui potest/' Cic. 
de Leg. lib. 2. c. 10. Sic distrahuntur in contra- 
rias partes impotentium cupiditates, cum huic 
obsecutus sis, illi est repugnandum. Cic. Tusc. 
Disputat. lib. 5. sect. 20. Intus etiam in animis 
inclusse cupiditates inter se dissident atque dis- 
cordant ; ex quo vitam amarissimam necesse est 
effici. Cic. de Fin. lib. 1. sect. 13. ; also sect. 18. 
Homo non ut a matre, sed ut a noverca, natura 
editus est in vitam, corpore nudo et fragili et in- 
firmo ; animo autem anxio ad molestias, humili 
ad timores, molli ad labores, prono ad libidines, 
in quo tamen inest tanquam obrutus quidam 
divinus ignis ingenii et mentis." Cic. apud 
Augustin. lib. 4. contra Pelaginm. See many 
other passages of the same kind, cited by Clarke 
in his Evidences of Natural and Revealed Reli- 
gion, p. 124 — 128. See Felton's Vindication of 



388 

the Christian Faith, in which he shows that the 
doctrine of the Fall has been taken for granted 
in all systems of natural religion, p. 109, &c. 
See Leng's Sermons at Boyle^s Lectures, p. 354. 
&c. ; also Seed's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 334. ; also 
Hartley on Man, vol. ii. p. 24. ch. 2. prop. 24. 
See also Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, part I. 
ch. 16., in which numerous heathen authorities 
are cited, to show that mankind have always 
felt and acknowledged themselves to be in a 
sinful and guilty condition. 

" The philosophers and wise men among the 
heathens were sensible of a great depravation in 
our souls, and degeneracy from the divine life, 
and therefore they prescribed several ways and 
methods for purifying our souls, and raising 
them to that purity and perfection to which 
they supposed they were designed." Tillotson, 
vol. iii. p. 309- &c. ; Watts 9 s Ruin and Recovery 9 
quest. 1, and 2. That the scriptural account 
of the origin of evil accords with the phenomena 
of the moral world, is shown by Van Mildert, m 
his Boyle's Lectures, vol. i. p. 3. ; also by Clarke^ 
in his Enquiry into the Origin of Evil, vol. ii. 
p. 180— 197. Upon the notion of duty, and of 
moral obligations, which is inherent in our na- 
ture, see Bishop Butler's admirable Sermons on 
Human Nature ; Tatham's Chart and Scale of 
Truth, vol. i. ch. ll, ; Price's Review of 'Morals \ 
cli. 8, and 9. particularly p. 358 — 363. 



384 

No. 10. 

Opposition between our Wishes and Situations. 

" Deprimimur in hoc statu mortali infra locum 
et gradum et praestantiam naturae nostras. Unde 
iste nobis pudor in nonnullis rebus aut affectibus 
naturalibus? Unde istaec modestia aut perturbatio 
in natura humana," &c. Vide Burnet, de Statu 
Mort. ch. 2. The arguments which are made use 
of by Burnet, and other writers, to prove the im- 
mortality of the soul, will also tend to show, that 
we are not in the state wherein the equitable and 
all-wise Creator would have originally placed man- 
kind. See also A. B. Sharp's Sermons, vol. vL 
Serm. 15. Tillotson 9 s Sermons, vol.ii. Serm. 14. and 
15. ; also Blair's fine Sermon on the Love of Praise, 
as indicating the remains of a more elevated 
nature, Serm. 21, and 31. ; also his discourse on 
the Vanity of the World, vol. ii. Serm. 24. ; 
Simpson's Internal Evidences, part. 2. ch. 2. 
sect. 3., and ch. 3. sect. 3. " Man is at a loss 
where to fix himself, and how to recover his 
rank in the world. He is unquestionably out of 
his way. He feels within himself the small 
remains of his once happy state which he is now 
unable to retrieve. And yet this is what he 
daily courts and follows after, always with 
solicitude, never with success, encompassed with 
darkness which he can neither escape nor pene- 



385 

trate. Hence arose the great contest among 
the philosophers, some of whom endeavoured 
to raise and exalt man by displaying his great- 
ness, others to depress and debase him by re- 
presenting his misery. But what seems more 
strange is this, that each party borrowed from 
the other the ground of their opinions. For 
the misery of man may be inferred from his 
greatness, and his greatness is deducible from 
his misery. Thus the one sect, with more 
evidence, demonstrated his misery, because they 
derived it from his greatness, while the other 
more strongly concluded his greatness because 
they founded it in his misery. Whatever was 
offered to justify his greatness in behalf of one 
party, served only to evince his misery in behalf 
of the other. In a word, man knows himself to 
be miserable ; he is therefore exceedingly mise- 
rable: but he likewise appears to be eminently 
great, from the very act of knowing himself to 
be wretched." Pascal. See Price's Review of 
Morals, ch. 2. Baxter's Reasons of the Christian 
Religion, parti, ch. 16. 

No. 11. 

Fall probable from the Ills we suffer. 

u If we take a survey of sublunary nature, as 
of that system at the head of which we are 

c c 



386 

placed, we shall find that it has undergone a 
great change on account of human apostacy, 
that it lies under the frown of Heaven, that its 
order and course is disturbed, and that, in fine, 
it has become a stage in which the Almighty no 
less displays his justice and his judgments, than 
his grace and beneficence ; on which his indig- 
nation against sin, is no less conspicuous than 
his compassionate regard to sinners," &c. See 
Bates 9 s Rural Philosophy, part. 1. sect. 1. where 
this subject is very finely treated. See also 
Cudworth's Intellectual System, vol. i. p. 23., &c. 
who adduces some remarkable passages from the 
ancients concerning that punitive justice which 
may be traced in creation. See also Watts's 
Ruin and Recovery, appendix, essay 1., where 
this subject is handled with great force of rea- 
soning. See Doddridge's Lectures, part. 8. 
prop. 133. 

" The Scripture account of the fatal and im- 
portant consequences of the first transgression, 
shows how superficial are the usual apologies 
made by wretched mortals in excuse of their 
vices and follies. One crime is the effect of 
thoughtlessness ; they did not, forsooth, consider 
how bad such an action was. Another is a 
natural action. Drunkenness is only an immo- 
derate indulgence of a natural appetite. Have 
such excuses as these been thought sufficient 



387 

in the case before us ? The eating of the for- 
bidden fruit, was only indulging a natural ap- 
petite directly contrary to the Divine command; 
and it is likely that our first parents did not 
duly attend to all the probable consequences of 
their transgression. But neither of these apo- 
logies, nor the inexperience of the offenders, nor 
their being overcome by temptation, were suf- 
ficient to avert the Divine displeasure, the 
marks of which we and our world bear to 
this llour. ,, Burgh's Dignity of Human Na- 
ture, p. 34f5* " Death has in it all the ap- 
pearance of being an evil for which such crea- 
tures as we are might not be originally in- 
tended." Price's Dissertations, p. 155. Jenkin 
on Christianity, vol. ii. ch. 13. 

No. 12. 

Hereditary Principle. 

" According to the laws of nature we see 
that children are every day suffering the most 
grievous calamities, on account of the crimes of 
their parents and progenitors. It is God's will 
that they should do so ; he has made the world 
so that they must," &c. See Og den's Sermons, 
vol. ii. p. 31, 32. ; also some fine observations 
on this subject in Bishop Watson's Tracts, 
vol. i. Sermon 4. See many fine illustrations of 
c c 2 



388 

this chapter in Watts' s Ruin and Recovery of 
Mankind, particularly p. 106 -— 15-1., also p. 477. - ? 
also Butler's Analogy, part viii. ch. 5. ; also Og- 
den's Sermon on the Redemption of Man. " It 
is very strange, and you are pretty sure it is 
hardly right, that their posterity should be 
involved in their guilt, and made to suffer for 
an offence that was not their own. Now, first 
of all, is it not surprising that this should ap- 
pear strange to us, who have lived all our lives 
in a world in which the same thing has hap- 
pened every day ?" &c. See the sentiments of 
some ancient philosophers cited on this subject 
by Dr. Knox, in his Evening Lucubrat vol. u» 
p. I67. j also Warburton's Divine Legation, 
vol. iii. p. 457- See Price's Dissertations. 
" We see," says this excellent writer, " among 
the individuals of mankind, that in consequence 
of their dependence one on the other, they are 
often deprived of benefits which seemed to be in- 
tended for them by the constitution of the Deity, 
and brought into states which, though they give 
no reason for complaining of Providence, are yet 
justly deemed calamitous. How credible is it that 
there may be also events, or connections in na- 
ture, by which, consistently with perfect wis- 
dom and goodness, the like may happen some- 
times to a species," p. 156. There are some 
fine observations on this subject in Hartley on 



389 



Man, vol. ii. ch. 2. prop. 40. ; also in Delaney's 
" Revelat. examined with Candour," Disser- 
tations 1. and 7« See Doddridge 9 s Lectures, 
Lect. 164 — 168.; also Balguy's Second Let- 
ter to a Deist, p. 287 — 290. \ also Grotius de 
Jure, lib. ii. cap. £1. ; De Pcenarum Communicat. 

Eif TSTapJjjv ysvsuv 5ta£»£a£e» rrjv r< ( awpj«y. Plat* apud 

Grot de Decal. 

No. IS. 
(Mer Beings in the Universe, 

Upon the opinions of the ancients respecting 
the origin of evil, as connected with the revolt 
of evil spirits, see Gray's Connection of Sacred 
and Profane Literature, ch. 14. 

".In the innumerable gradations of sensitive 
beings with which Almighty God has replenished 
this earth, and hath, as we judge from analogy, 
replenished all other planets in this solar system, 
and all other solar systems sunk in the incon- 
ceivable profundity of infinite space, we may 
conclude that the human species is neither the 
highest nor the lowest in the rank of intel- 
lectual and moral agents. This conclusion 
reason renders probable as to both points, and 
revelation renders certain as to one of them." 
Bishop Watson's Tracts, vol. i. p. 541. That 
the Scripture doctrine of evil spirits is agreeable 
c c 3 



390 

to reason, see Leland's Deistical Writers, vol. i. 
letter 35. p. 159. ; also Law's Notes to King's 
Origin of Evil, Nos. 19. 22. 24, &c. and No. 71. \ 
and see also Chalmers's " Discourses on the 
Christian Revelation, in Connection with Modern 
Astronomy " also Price's " Dissertation on Pro- 
vidence," p. 159. ; also Wollaston's " Relig. of 
Nature," p. 195. sect. 5. ; also Fidler's " Gospel 
its own Witness," part ii. ch. 5. ; also Locke, 
1. ii. c. 23. sect. 13., and lib. iv. c. 3. sect. 24. See 
the being, nature, and offices of evil spirits con- 
sidered, in the 6th discourse of Dr. Seed, vol. iii. 
" The doctrine of an evil daemon, who, though 
very powerful, was inferior to the good Deity, 
and should be abolished by him, is among the 
agreements mentioned by Jortin to have sub- 
sisted between Pagan and Christian philosophy." 
See Jortin on Christ. Relig. p. 119. See also 
Watson's Popular Evidences, ch. 4. ; also Bishop 
Horsley's Sermons, vol. i. Serm. xi. p. 236. The 
probability of the existence of such beings is 
shown by Addison, Spectator, No. 519. ; also by 
Doddridge, in his 98th Lecture. That the no- 
tions of the Heathens very nearly approached 
to those of the Jews and Christians on this sub- 
ject, is shown by him in Lect. 212. For va- 
rious traditions of the Heathens relating to 
diabolic agency, see Stilling fleet's Grig. Sacrce. 
book iii. ch. 3. sect. 17. and 13. See Cony- 
beare's Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 9. and 10. 



391 

No. 14. 
Might not they have tempted Man ? 

Upon the subject of this chapter, the reader 
may consult with advantage Bishop Stillingjieef s 
Origines Sacrw, book iii. ch. 3., who shows, both 
from reason and tradition, the probable truth of 
the scriptural account of the origin of evil. See 
also Bishop King's Origin of Evil, ch. 5. sect. 5. 
sub. 4. Concerning the traditions of the an- 
cients on this subject, see Gray's Connection of 
Sacred and Profane Literature, ch. 14. ; also 
Nichol's First Conference "with a Theist, vol. i. 
p. I87. See Van Milder fs Boyle's Lect vol. i. 
p. 447. See Clarke's Enquiry into the Origin of 
Evil, vol. ii. p. 220, &c. ; Gale's Court of the 
Gentiles, part i. book 3. ch. 4. " The welfare 
of a species, like that of individuals amongst 
men, may be made dependent on a higher spe- 
cies ; and while orders of reasonable beings may 
be so circumstanced, as to be liable to be brought 
into very calamitous states, from which it may 
not be possible for them to be saved, according 
to the general laws of the world, except by the 
kind assistance and labours of beings superior to 
them ; and we see reason to believe that such 
a general economy of nature, though the result, 
in some instances, may form abortion and ruin, 
was necessary to produce the greatest virtue 
c c 4 



392 

and the greatest good, upon the whole." Price's 
Dissertation on Providence, p. 130. ; Shuckford's 
His tori/ of the Creation and Fall of Man, ch. 10. y 
Doddridge's Lectures, 213 — 215. 

No. 15. 

Solitary Innocence required some Probation. 

See Archbishop King's Enquiry into the Origin 
of Evil, particularly sect. 8. ; and Bishop Law's 
Notes, No. 62. See Leland's Advantage and 
Necessity of the Christian Revelation, parti, ch. 1. ; 
also his Answer to Tindal, vol. ii. ch. 15. ; also 
Shuckford's Dissertation on the Creation and 
Fall of Man ; Archbishop King's Sermon on the 
Fall, and Law's Theory of Religion. " There is 
plainly no absurdity in the scriptural account of 
the fall of a certain number of beings, of a rank 
prior in existence, and superior in dignity to 
ours ; nor of their being driven, by a total 
despair of recovery to the Divine favour, to a 
confirmed habit of perseverance in vice, and op- 
position to all that is good. That such desper- 
ate beings, who knew themselves to be sealed 
to destruction, should, as far as permitted, exer- 
cise an implacable envy and hatred against our 
species, of whom they foresee that some part 
should rise to that happiness from which they 
are fallen, is not to be wondered at." Burgh's 
Dignity of Human Nature, p. 369. Upon the 



393 

fables and traditions of the ancients, see Gale's 
Court of the Gentiles, book ii. ; Gray's Connection 
of Sacred and Profane Literature, c. 14. ; Cud- 
worth's Intellectual System, book i. ch. 4. ; also 
Sumner's Records of the Creation, vol. ii. chap. 2. 

No. 16. 
Man a mixed and imperfect Being. 

Does not the world exhibit traces of order 
and confusion ? See Doddridge's Lectures, 
prop. 89. ; Watt's Ruin and Recovery, Essay 1. 
p. 359. " In the whole form and course of the 
world since the original defection, we may 
discern a display of justice softened by for- 
bearance, and of indulgence tempered with 
justice ; a righteous judge as well as a gracious 
benefactor ; a God offended, but not irrecon- 
cilable. For what account can be given upon the 
hypothesis of our native innocence and of our 
relation to God as a benign Creator only, of 
the treatment we receive in the course of his 
Providence ? Should it be suggested, that it is 
for our trial, for the exercise and improvement 
of our virtue, and in consequence, the advance- 
ment of our happiness ; yet is it not a strange 
trial for an innocent creature * to be introduced 
into being with weeping and anguish, to sicken 

* See Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. vii. c. 1. 



394 

a few years, and before he has committed any 
personal offence, to be snatched away by the 
hand of death ? Or if his term be lengthened, to 
see him exposed to numberless evils, both moral 
and physical, to injuries and disasters ; to the 
buffets of nature, and of what the world calls 
fortune, and then to close his days in languish- 
ing disease, and sometimes in excruciating tor- 
ments?" &c. Bates 9 s Rural Philosophy, part 1. 
sect. 1. 

No. 17. 

Of Hope and Repentance. 

" Jt is reasonable," says Jortin, " that the 
Divine Mercy should constantly display itself 
in all cases which lie within the reach of compas- 
sion. Such was the case of us men, who though 
sinful, yet are weak and frail beings \ though 
offenders, yet corrigible and capable of amend- 
ment," &c. See his Discourses on the Christ. Re- 
ligion, p. 43, &c, also ch. 7. "Repentance is a 
duty of natural religion, and reason gives hopes 
that it may be advantageous to us ; but the ut- 
most which a man can conclude, without the 
assistance of revelation, is, that it shall be much 
better for him in a future state, if he amend his 
life, than if he continues wicked. Thus far rea- 
son goes, and no farther, p. 261. " Quem 
pcenitet peccasse pene est innocens." Senec. 



395 

That hope was the extreme point at which 
human reason could arrive, after the joint use of 
repentance and sacrifice, is shown by Bishop 
Conybeare in his Defence of Revealed Religion, 
p. 115 — 133. Upon the hopes entertained by 
the Jews and Heathens, of some extraordinary 
deliverer to rescue and reform mankind, see 
Gray's Connection of Sacred and Profane Litera- 
ture, ch. 25. See also Clarke's Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, prop. 6. p. 142 
— 167. See the authorities referred to by Ma- 
gee, vol. i. p. 95. ; also Watts 9 s Ruin and Reco- 
very, quest. 10. ; also Butler's Analogy, part ii. 
c. 5. sect. 4. " The fact is, that there are re- 
medies provided for the misfortunes and calami- 
ties of men ; and that greater goodness is in this 
instance displayed in the constitution of nature 
than we could, on any sure grounds, have ante- 
cedently expected." See Price's Dissertation 
on Providence, p. 129. ; also Foster's Discourses 
on Natural Religion, vol. i. c. 8. ; also Paley's 
Natural Theology, ch. 26. 

That the effects of repentance in a state of 
nature would afford some hopes of pardon, 
mingled with great apprehensions, is shown by 
Doddridge in his Lectures, vol. i. p. 3. prop. 81. ; 
also prop. 93. On the natural hopes of for- 
giveness of sin, see Barrow, vol. ii. p. 373. See 
some beautiful reflections on man's natural hopes 



39<3 

of pardon in Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, 
part i. ch. 17. Yet that repentance alone did 
not seem likely to secure pardon, is shown by 
Turner in his Boyle's Lectures, and by Berriman 
in his First Sermon at the same. " Will repent- 
ance alone recover that happiness which man- 
kind had forfeited, and rescue them from that 
misery to which they are become obnoxious ? 
Do we not find in the ordinary course of nature, 
which is God's appointment, that punishments 
which no after-conduct, no subsequent reform- 
ation can entirely remove, often attend upon 
guilt ? A man, for instance, shall feel the ill 
effects of debauchery, and a profligate course of 
life, long after he has repented and been re- 
claimed. Now, if we thus suffer for our sins, not- 
withstanding our repentance, in the daily course 
of God's natural providence, what ground have 
we to imagine that repentance alone will free us 
from all the evil consequences of sin hereafter ?" 
See Seed's Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 5. p. 374. See 
also Bishop Cony bear e's Defence of Revealed Re- 
ligion, p. 112 — 131. Upon the worship and 
sacrifices of the ancients, see Gale's Court of the 
Gentiles, book ii. c. 9. part i. How imperfectly 
the scheme of Deism accounts for the treatment 
of penitent sinners, is shown by Dr. Ritchie on 
Revelation, vol. ii. p. 253. See Leland against 
Tindal, vol. i. ch. 6. 



397 

No. 18. 
Reason for hoping a Revelation, 

The subject of this chapter is very ably 
treated by Watts, in his Ruin and Recovery of 
Mankind, question 10. — " What hope of re- 
covery can reason give us ?" See also Clarke's 
Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, 
p. 156. ; Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, part i. 
cb. 16. and 17« The general grounds for ex- 
pecting a Divine Revelation are stated by Dr, 
Barrow, vol. ii. serm. 13. 

For the opinions of the ancient philosophers^ 
respecting their want and hope of a Revelation, 
see Dr. Clarke's Evidences of Natural and Re- 
vealed Religion, prop. vii. p. 153 — 167. ; also 
Bishop Leng's Eleventh Sermon at Boyle's Lec- 
tures ; also Gale's Court of the Gentiles, part i. 

" Had the natural course of things in the 
present state been such, that whenever any par- 
ticular calamities or accidents happened to men, 
there should have been no remedy for them, we 
should have had no just reason for complaint, 
and God would have been good. Nor could 
any arguments have been taken from this attri- 
bute to prove, that there ought to have been 
remedies provided, which would not equally 
have proved that they ought to be easy, uni- 
versal, and infallible, or rather, that there should 



398 

have been no occasion for them, and no suffer- 
ings or pains of any kind. But the fact is, that 
there are remedies provided for the misfortunes 
and calamities of men, and they are not left, as 
they might have been, to perish irretrievably 
by the calamities that happen to them, but it is 
put in their power, in numberless cases, to help 
one another, and to prevent the fatal effects 
which would follow particular calamities. A 
provision is made, in the spontaneous agency 
and benevolence of our fellow-creatures, for a 
great addition to the happiness of life, and 
diminution of its sufferings." Price's Disserta- 
tion on Providence, p. 128. Watt's Ruin and 
Recovery, question 10. ; Butler's Analogy, 
part ii. ch. 5. ; see also Wollaston's Religion of 
Nature, ch. 5. sect. 19- \ Ritchie's Peculiar 
Doctrines of Revelation, vol. i. sect. 3. ch. 2. 

" It must be admitted,'' says Bolingbroke, 
" that Plato insinuates, in many places, the want 
or the necessity of a Divine Revelation, to dis- 
cover what the external service of God requires, 
and the expiation for sin, and to give stronger 
assurances of the rewards and punishments that 
await men in another world." See Leland's 
Deistical Writers, vol. ii. letter 27- 



899 



No. 19. 

Probable Channel of Revelation — Repentance, 
Pardon, and Sacrifice. 

This subject is enquired into by Doddridge, 
in his 95th and 97th Propositions. — See his 
Lectures, part 5. : " Repentance is a duty of 
natural religion ; and reason gives us hopes that 
it may be advantageous to us. We find our- 
selves able to change, as from better to worse, 
so from worse to better. Now, certainly, it is 
not to no purpose that we enjoy this power. It 
seems, therefore, probable, that God, who made 
us capable of amendment, will show some favour 
to us, if, for the time to come, we carefully en- 
deavour to deserve it," &c. See Jortin on the 
Christ Religion, chap. 7. Yet that this hope was 
not independent of the conviction of the neces- 
sity of sacrifice and atonement for sin, is shown 
at large by Magee, vol. i. Notes, No. 4. and 5. 

The following facts relative to the present 
state of Mahometanism in India, will power- 
fully illustrate our sentiments respecting the 
necessity of a sacrifical form of worship : " It 
is well known that Mahomet endeavoured to 
set up a system of Deism, confessedly drawn 
from a very imperfect knowledge of the Old 
and New Testament, in which he grafted various 
observances, well suited to gratify the two 



400 

leading passions in our fallen nature, — self-de- 
pendence and the love of sin. His followers 
have not been able to repose in that system, but 
have exalted the grandsons of Mahomet, whose 
death they annually commemorate, into mar- 
tyrs for their sect, and rely on their death for 
the forgiveness of sins. The great body of the 
Mahometans in India annually celebrate the 
Mohurrim, or festival of the death of Hussen 
and Hussein. These were the sons of Fatima, 
the daughter of Mahomet, by Ali ; and on the 
death of their father, were opposed by a com- 
petitor for the supremacy, who, it is said, 
procured one of them to be poisoned by means 
of one of his concubines. The other was slain 
in battle. An opinion has become current 
amongst the Mahometans, that, in the day of 
judgment, Fatima will appear before the throne, 
with the heart of the poisoned son in one hand, 
and with the head of the murdered son in the 
other, and will demand acquittal on account of 
their death for their followers ; which they 
suppose will be granted." — Note to a Sermon 
by the Rev. Dr. Corrie, now a Chaplain in the 
East India Company's service, p. 57. In qua- 
libet setate, et apud quaslibet hominum nationes, 
semper fuit aliqua sacrificiorum oblatio. Quod 
autem est apud omnes, naturale est. Paulus 
Burgensis apud StillingfleeU Irenicum, book i. 
c. 3. p. 76. 



401 



No. 20. 
Unity of God. 
" It is granted, that reason can prove the 
unity of the First Cause, by arguments drawn 
from the contemplation of his works, and by 
reflection on our own minds. Yet it must be 
granted, that when Christianity appeared, the 
one true God was acknowledged and worshipped 
by no one nation in the world, the Jews ex- 
cepted." — Grove's Moral Philosophy, vol. ii. 
chap. 20. p. 591. " The belief of there being 
but one God is now very familiar and common - y 
but before the preaching of the Gospel, poly- 
theism was so ancient and universal, that to all 
the world, the Jews only excepted, monotheism 
was a mystery." — Grew's Cosmologia Sacra, 
book 5. ch. 4. See the article Theology, part 2. 
sect. 1. in Encyclopaedia Britannica ; also Stil- 
lingfleef *s Or igines Sacra?, book 3. chap. 6. sect. 4. 
There are some remarkable testimonies of the 
ancients to the Divine Unity in Barrow's 
Eighth Sermon, vol. ii. See Doddridge's Forty- 
fourth Lecture ; Foley's Natural Theology, 
ch. 24. and 25. ; Ogden's Sermon on the Unity 
of God, vol. ii. serm. 1.; Bishop Wilkin's Na- 
tural Religion, lib. i. ch. 4. ; Foster's Discourses 
on Natural Religion, vol. i. ; Wollaston's Religion 
cf Nature, sect. 5. ; Burgh's Dignity of Human 
Nature, book 3. sect, i . For proofs of the 

D D 



402 

Divine Unity as discoverable by reason, see 
Clarke's Being and Attributes, p. 44. ; Leland's 
Short Method with the Deists, p. 60. ; Machine 
against Jenyn's Letter III. ; Bishop Law's 
Notes on King's Origin of Evil, no. 10. The 
very imperfect notions of the ancient philo- 
sophers concerning the Unity of the Divine 
Being, are shown by Leland in his Advantage 
and Necessity of Revelation, part i. chap. 13. 
and 14. ; Gray's Connection, chap. 10. The in- 
fluence of idolatry on the conduct of the hea- 
then is shown by Weston on Miracles, chap. 9. 
The tendency of modern infidel speculations to 
confound the God of Nature with the system 
of the world, is shown by Van Mildert in his 
Boyle's Lectures, vol. ii. p. 317. The same 
shown of the ancient philosophers, p. 92. ; also 
by Tillotson, vol. i. serm. 48. ; Barrow's Works, 
vol. ii. serm. 16. The opinions of the ancients 
concerning the Divine Unity, are set forth at 
large by Cudworth, in book i. ch. 4. of his In- 
tellectual System. See also Whitby's Necessity of 
the Christian Revelation, ch. 3. and ch.6., inw T hich 
the imperfect notions of the heathens on this 
subject are clearly displayed; also Sumner's 
Records of the Creation, part i. ch. 3. sect. 5., 
where the superiority of Christianity is distinctly 
shown, by the comparison of Pagan with Christ- 
ian testimonies. 



403 

No. 21. 
JVieftj Relations of the Divine Being. 

" If a Revelation from God be necessary to 
teach us any thing concerning the Divine Nature 
and his designs towards mankind, and in rela- 
tion to a future state, more than what we could 
naturally know before, it must of necessity be 
something which our reason could not discover % 
and as far as the nature of an Infinite Being is 
concerned in it, it must exceed our finite capa- 
cities, by the very nature of things. Yet the 
belief of it, when so revealed, may be very 
reasonable, so long as it implies no contradic- 
tions. And, indeed, it would be a much greater 
prejudice against a Revelation, if it had no 
marks in it of any thing but what human reason 
could have discovered without it." — Leng's 
Sixteenth Sermon, p. 503. 

" That God can make known to us many 
truths, of which we were before ignorant, 
though greatly interested in them, will not, 
surely, be doubted ; for we can make known 
such very often one to another. And that from 
these truths corresponding rules of behaviour 
may flow, is equally plain. Those duties and 
relations, therefore, to our Redeemer and Sane- 
tifier, which the Holy Scriptures alone discover 
d d % 



404 



to us, are not on that account at all less real 
than those to oar Creator of which reason 
informs us." — Seeker's Second Sermon on 
Matthew, chap. 28. v. 19. and 20. " As it is 
very probable that much of a Revelation would 
relate to the Divine Being and his operations, 
it is to be expected, that though much additional 
light may be given us as to many things con- 
cerning him, yet that these discoveries may be 
connected with some further hints relating to 
what is yet unknown ; so that there may be 
many things in it beyond our adequate compre- 
hensions, or, in other words, something mys- 
terious." — Part 5. Preposit. 95. Doddridge's 
Lectures. 

" Many of the doctrines of our religion are 
transcendantly sublime, and some of them 
above the highest reach of our understandings 
to compass ; but to determine the great good- 
ness and mercy which they accord to the human 
race, the only relations to be considered are 
those between God and man. This is a species 
of evidence which is mixed and interwoven with 
the vitals of our religion, and inherent in its 
very substance." — Tatham's Chart and Scale, 
vol. ii. p. 61. See also Conybeare's Defence of 
Revealed Religion, p. 31 . 



405 

No. 22. 
God known to Man after a Relative Manner. 

" Nothing is more evident, than that we 
have no idea of God as he is in himself j and it 
is for want of such an idea, that we frame to 
ourselves the most excellent conception of him 
we can, by putting together, in one, the greatest 
perfections we observe in the creation, and par- 
ticularly in our own reasonable nature, to stand 
for his perfections ; not most grossly arguing 
and inferring that God is such an one as our- 
selves, only infinitely enlarged and improved in 
all our natural powers and faculties, but con- 
cluding that our greatest excellencies are the 
best, and aptest, and most correspondent repre- 
sentations only of his incomprehensible perfec- 
tions, which infinitely transcend the most exalted 
of what are in any created beings, and are far 
out of the reach of all human imagination." 
Brown's Procedure of the Understanding, ch. 3. 
p. 85. ; Ellis's Knowledge of Divine Things, 
p. 94. See also Bishop Brown's Divine Analogy, 
where the subject of this chapter is treated with 
great learning and ability. That this principle 
holds good also in any revelation communicated 
by others, is shown by Locke on Human Under- 
standing, bookiv. ch. 18. sect. 3. " No man 

BD 3 



406 

inspired by God, can, by any revelation, com- 
municate to others any new simple ideas which 
they had not before from sensation or reflection ; 
for whatsoever impressions he may himself have 
from the immediate hand of God, this revela- 
tion, if it be of new simple ideas, cannot be 
conveyed to another, either by words or lan- 
guage," &c. p. 264. Query. If these obser- 
vations were practically attended to, would they 
not act as an excellent preservative against 
mystics and enthusiasts ? 

See Barrow's Sermons on the Creed, vol. ii. 
serm. 10., in which he explains the term 
" Father" as applied to God. See also Price's 
Review of the Questions of Morals, ch. 1. and 5. \ 
also Cudworth's Eternal and Immutable Morality, 
book iv. ch. 4. See Pearson on the Creed, 
artic. 1. p. 45. "Wheresoever God hath been 
acknowledged, he hath been understood and 
worshipped as a Father; — the very heathen 
poets so describe their Gods, and their vulgar 
names do carry Father in them, as the most 
popular and universal notion." Of God's relation 
to us as our Father, see Baxter's Reasons of the 
Christian Religion, parti, ch. 12. 



407 



No. 23. 

The Author of a Revelation would perhaps be 
Divine. 

" That the gods might appear and converse 
with men, and that the Divinity might inhabit 
human nature, were points allowed by the hea- 
thens, and for this I appeal to their poets and 
philosophers, whose testimonies are so numerous 
and clear, that it would be an affront to repeat 
them to a man of any education," Berkeley's 
Minute Philosopher, dial. vi. sect. 12. " It is 
possible that some superior spirit may be em- 
ployed as the messenger of such a revelation ; 
and if he should not only make a transient ap- 
pearance on earth, but take up his abode here 
for a considerable time in a human form, giving 
an example of the most perfect virtue, we must 
acknowledge the circumstance extremely well 
chosen and worthy of the Divine wisdom, though 
we cannot pretend it to be absolutely neces- 
sary.'' Doddridge, prop. 97° " It is congruous 
to reason," says Baxter, " that fallen creatures, 
who knew so little of God, of his will, and of 
their own concernments, and of the other world, 
should have a teacher sent from Heaven of 
greater authority and credit than an angel to 
acquaint us with God and his will, and the world 
d d 4 



408 



to which we are going/' Reasons for Christianity, 
part. ii. ch. 5. p. 252. 

" The heathens had even some notions that 
their gods, upon very solemn occasions, might 
come down to them in the likeness of man, as 
we may gather from the men of Lystra, who 
attempted to do sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas." 
See Stanhope's Boyle's Lectures. Seneca thus 
speaks of the mind of his imaginary wise man : 
Quid aliud voces hunc, quam Deum in humano 
corpore hospitantem ? Epist. 31. 

No. 24. 

The Force of Example. 

See Doddridge, as quoted in the preceding- 
note. " It is probable that the chief persons 
employed in opening such a revelation may ap- 
pear in plain and low circumstances of human 
life, rather than with princely grandeur ; since, 
in this view, their testimony might be less sus- 
pected of being a political contrivance, and 
their example would be more instructive to the 
generality of mankind,'' lect. 109. " It was 
meet that the world should have not only a 
teacher, but also a perfect pattern before them 
of all virtues; and therefore the Gospel is written 
historically, with doctrines intermixt, that we 
might have both perfect precepts, and a perfect 
patron." Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, 



409 

p. 254. The force and excellence of Christ's 
example are set forth by Barrow, vol. iii. serm. 
2. and 3. Longum iter est per prsecepta, breve 
et efficax per exempla. Senec. epist. 6. Aliquis 
vh> bonus nobis eligendus est, ac semper ante 
oculos habendus. Idem, Epist. 1 1 . 

No. 25. 
Sacrifice. 

" If the idea of the innocent suffering in the 
room of the guilty, were in all cases inadmis- 
sible, and utterly repugnant to the human un- 
derstanding, how came the use of expiatory 
sacrifices to prevail as it has in every age and 
nation ? Whether the idea first proceeded from 
a divine command, as Christians generally be- 
lieve, or whatever was its origin, it has approved 
itself to the minds of men, and not of the most 
uncultivated part of mankind only, but of the 
most learned and polite." Fuller's Gospel its 
own Witness, partii. ch. 4.; also Machine against 
Jenyns, letter 4. ; also Bishop Watson's Miscel- 
laneous Tracts, serm. 4. ; Bishop Warburton's 
Divine Legation, book ix. ch. 2. ; Leland's View 
of the Deistical Writers, vol. ii. letter 32. p. 227, 
&c. ; Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Religion, 
p. 115. Grotius de Jure Belli, ch. 21. lib. 2. 

For general information upon the doctrine of 
sacrifice, I would beg leave to refer to the 



410 

learned work of Dr. Magee on Atonement, though 
I am obliged to differ from this excellent author, 
when he would attempt to prove (see vol.ii. 
No. 54.) the " natural unreasonableness of sacri- 
fice" This is surely venturing beyond what 
prudence would dictate. It is sufficient to show 
the Divine institution of this rite, without en- 
deavouring to evince (what it is impossible to 
believe) that any appointment of God is made 
in direct opposition to reason. How much 
more safe to believe, that it was instituted on 
account of its suitableness and congeniality to 
the human mind ! Besides, on any other sup- 
position, how can ' you explain its universality 
amongst all nations, whether barbarous or civi- 
lized ? If the learned author would condescend 
to compare the reasoning of his 54th note with 
the facts which are contained in No. 55. and 56., 
I am not without hope that he would see the 
propriety of attending to this suggestion. 

" It cannot be thought unreasonable, says Dr. 
Clarke, to be believed, that in such a revelation, 
wherein God surely proclaims remission of sin, 
and the acceptableness of repentance, he should 
have appointed such a sacrifice or expiation for 
sin, as ought, at the same time, to be a sufficient 
testimony of his irreconcilable hatred against 
it. For though, by the light of nature, it was 
exceedingly probable, and to be hoped for, that 



411 

God would forgive sins upon true repentance, yet 
it could not be proved that he was absolutely 
obliged to do so, or that he would certainly do 
so. On the contrary there was reason to sup- 
pose, that in vindication of the honour and dig- 
nity of his laws, he would require some further 
satisfaction and expiation. And, accordingly, 
we find the custom of sacrificing to have pre- 
vailed universally over the heathen world in all 
ages, which however unreasonable an expect- 
ation it was to think that the blood of beasts 
could truly expiate sin, yet thus much it plainly 
shows, that it has been the common apprehen- 
sion of mankind in all ages — that God would 
not be appeased nor pardon sin without some 
punishment and satisfaction ; and yet, at the 
same time, they had good hopes, that, upon the 
repentance of sinners, God would accept some 
other satisfaction instead of the destruction of 
the offender. It is therefore plainly agreeable 
to right reason to believe, that God, in vindica- 
tion of the honour of his laws, and for a testi- 
mony of his hatred against sin, should appoint 
some sacrifice and expiation for sin, at the same 
time that he forgives the sinner on his true 
repentance." Evidences of Natural and Revealed 
Religion, p. 195. " Though the efficacy of re- 
pentance itself alone," says Butler, " to prevent 
what mankind had rendered themselves ob- 



412 

noxious to, and recover what they had forfeited, 
is now insisted on in opposition to Christianity ; 
yet by the general prevalence of propitiatory 
sacrifices over the heathen world, this notion of 
repentance alone being sufficient to expiate guilt 
appears contrary to the general sense of man- 
kind." Analogy ,part2. ch.5. p. 251. " It seems," 
says Bishop Leng, " to have been a general 
notion of mankind, that God would admit of 
some expiation for sin, which occasioned so 
universal a practice of sacrificing ; but that any 
sacrifice which man could offer should be a 
valuable consideration for this purpose cannot 
easily be conceived," serm. 16. p. 491. See 
also Felton's Vindication of the Christian Faith, 
p. 254. Brown against Tindal, p. 467, &c« ; also 
Stillingfleef s Irenicum, lib. i. ch. 3. p. 76., and 
Grot, de Satis/act. cap. 10. 

No. 26. 

Spiritual Aid. 

That the ancients had some hopes of being 
spiritually assisted in their prayers and religious 
ceremonies, and in the general course of their 
lives, if conducted on the principles of virtue, is 
plain from numerous passages in their writings. 
It might be deduced, indeed, from their opinions 
of prophecy. Thus Cicero : Vetus opinio est, 
jam usque ab heroicis ducta temporibus, eaque 



413 

et populi Romani et omnium gentium firmata 
consensu, versari quandam inter homines Divi- 
nationem, quam Graeci jxav7»x»jv appellant, id est 
preesensionem et scientiam rerum futurarum. 
De Divin. lib. i. ch. 1. Nemo unquam vir 
magnus, sine Divino afflatu fuit. De Nat. 
Deorum, lib. ii. Many passages of the same 
kind may be found cited by Clarke, in his 
Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, 
p. 153, &c. See others collected by Bates, in 
his excellent work entitled " Rural Philosophy," 
part ii. p. 158 — 160. ; by Ellis, in his Know- 
ledge of Divine Things, p. 217. and 238. and 282. 
A remarkable passage on this subject is cited by 
Dr. Knox, from the works of Aristotle ; see his 
Lucubrations, vol. ii. No. 43. ; and a similar 
passage is cited by Cudworth in his Intellectual 
System, vol. i. p. 204. Prope est a te Deus, 
tecum est, intus est ; ita dico, Lucili, sacer intra 
nos spiritus sedet, malorumque bonorumque nos- 
trorum observator et custos : hie prout a nobis 
tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat. Seneca. See 
also Wollaston 9 s Religion of Nature, sect. 5. 
prop. 4. p. 191. 

No. 27- 
Immortality of the Soul. 
The great uncertainty of the ancients respect- 
ing this important doctrine of natural religion is 



414 

shown by Clarke, in his Evidences of Natural and 
Revealed Religion, p. 143—147. ; also prop. xi. 
p. 178. ; also Leland's Advantage of Revelation, 
part iii. c. 1. See the article Metaphysics, in 
Encyc. Brit. ch. 14. for an account of the argu- 
ments of the philosophers for the immortality 
of the soul y yet all who admitted this doctrine 
appear to have believed in its pre-existence, 
p. 664. The natural arguments for this doc- 
trine are to be found in Stillingfleet' s Origines 
Sacrce, book iii. ch. 1. > Doddridge's Lectures, 
part iv. vol. 1. lect. 91. The natural and moral 
evidences for the immortality of the soul are 
stated in Balguy's 19th and 20th sermons. 
There are three fine Discourses by Bishop Por- 
teus on this subject, in his sermons, vol. i. The 
arguments are also briefly summed up in Stew- 
art's Outlines of Moral Philosophy, p. 227. ? also 
Butler's Analogy, part i. ch. 1. ; Wollaston's Re- 
ligion of Nature, 349 — 385. ; Paley's Natural 
Theology, p. 543. ; Jortin on the Christian Re- 
ligion, 287. — 293. ; Burgh's Dignity of Human 
Nature, p. 194. and 372. See a very candid 
view of the opinions of the ancients respecting 
the immortality of the soul, in Leland's Deisti- 
cal Writers, vol. ii. letter 27. ', also in Gray's 
Connection, ch. 13. "It is congruous to the 
wisdom and governing justice of God, that the 
same body which was partaker with the soul in 
15 



415 

sin and duty should be partaker with it in suf- 
fering or felicity." Baxter's Reasons for Christi- 
anity, v. 396. ; Van Milder? s Boyle's Lectures, 
vol. ii. p. 70. "The most important service that 
can be rendered to human life, and that conse- 
quently which, one might expect beforehand, 
would be the great end and office of a revelation 
from God, is to convey to the world authorised 
assurances of the reality of a futufe existence. 53 
Paley's Evidences, vol, ii. part. 2. ch. 2. See also 
Whitby's Necessity of Revelation, ch. 5. 

No. 28. 
Eternal Rewards and Punishments* 

That none of the ancient philosophers, ex- 
cept Socrates, believed in a proper state of re- 
wards and punishments hereafter, is shown from 
their sentiments respecting the souPs being an 
emanation of the Divine substance, see Encyc 
Brit, article Metaphysics, 267, %68, 269. The 
agreement between the doctrines of natural and 
revealed religion, as to rewards and punish- 
ments, is shown by Bishop Sherlock, vol. iv. 
p. 116. - y also by Hartley on Man, vol. ii. prop. 
86—89. *, and by Tillotson, vol. iii. Serm. 120. 
On the popular belief amongst the ancients of a 
future state of rewards and punishments, and of 
a judgment, see Gray's Connection of Sacred and 



416 



Profane Literature, ch. C 2J. See J or tin's Ser~ 
mons, vol. iv. Serm. 4. ; Barrow's Sermons, vol. ii. 
Serm. 32. and 33. ; Pearson on the Creed, ar- 
ticle 7» p. 444. There are some fine remarks 
by Bishop Horsley, vol. i. Serm. 4. p. 73 — 80. 
on the subject of eternal punishments, and 
their consistency with the Divine attributes ; 
also in Pearson on the Creed, article 12. ; also 
Bishop Taylor's Discourses, vol. i. Serm. 1 — 3. ; 
also Dr. Tottie's 15th Sermon, who has illus- 
trated this subject with various analogies. See 
also Blair's 53d Sermon, vol. ii., on the last Judg- 
ment ; Bishop Fowler's Design of Christianity, 
sect. 3. ch. 14. ; Brown's Limits of the Under- 
standing, p. 351. ; Baxter's Reasons for Christi- 
anity, part i. ch. 14. and 15. ; also Clarke's Evi- 
dences of Natural and Revealed Religion, p. 207 . 
See Tatham's Chart and Scale, vol. i. c. xi. 
sect. 2. ; Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Re- 
ligion, p. 95. Leland against Tindal, ch. 8. part 1* 



No. 29. 

Some Doctrines mysterious. 

" It must not be objected," says Abp. Seeker, 
" that believers in the Gospel are often full of 
doubts and terrors, for believers in natural re- 
ligion alone have infinitely more cause for them $ 



417 



as both their rule and their hopes are infinitely 
more obscure. Serm. on Matthew, ch. 10. v. 34. ; 
also on Deut. ch. 29. v. 29. " That we should 
understand nothing further of God's secrets 
than is unfolded to us, nor be capable of an- 
swering many questions which may be asked 
about them, otherwise than by confessing our 
ignorance, is so far from being a plea against 
their being really His, that it is a necessary con- 
sequence of it — so far from being strange in 
supernatural things, that it is common in natu- 
ral ones." 

" Suppose there had been no mysterious parts 
in Revelation, and that every thing had been 
laid clear and open to the comprehension of 
natural reason, what would the improved un- 
derstanding of a wise man have thought of it? 
Would he not have said that the whole was of 
mere human contrivance ; since, if it were in- 
deed divine, it must needs have spoken its ori- 
ginal by some marks of Divinity, i. e. by some 
signatures of incomprehensible wisdom im- 
pressed upon it ?'* &c. Hurd y s 5th Sermon, vol. ii. 
Lord Bacon was of the same opinion, De 
Augment, sect. 28. See also Watson's Popu- 
lar Evidences, ch. 1. ; Butler's Analogy, part i. 
Introduction ; also his Sermons on the Igno- 
rance of Man ; Simpson's Internal Evidences, 
part i. ch. 4. ; Stillingfleef s Orig. Sac. book ii, 

E E 



418 



ch.^5. sect. 5. See Bishop Watson against Paine, 
p. 105 — 107. ; also Leng's Sermons, p. 503. ; 
Magee on Atonement, vol. i. No. 19. See the 
Appendix to the first vol. of Leland against Tin- 
dal, in which the mysteries of Natural are 
compared with those of Revealed Theology. 

No. 30. 

Positive Institutions. 

" The argument against positive institutions 
in religion tends equally to prove that all sym- 
bols in political or civil matters are absurd ; and 
so arraigns the wisdom and the customs of all na- 
tions. Why should a seal be added to confirm 
a writing ?" See Leland against Tindal, vol. i. 
ch. 4. p. 58—70. The same author vindicates 
the ritual precepts of the Old Testament, in his 
reply to Morgan's Moral Philosopher, ch. 2. 
See Watson's Popular Evidences, part iv. ch. 2. 
sect. 3. \ Felton's Vindication of the Christian 
Faith, p. 397* ; Wollaston's Religion of Nature, 
sect. 5. p. 222. ; Doddridge's Lectures, prop. 96. 
See Bishop Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Re- 
ligion, ch. 4., in which he maintains, Is/, tha,t it 
might, on several accounts, be expected, if God 
should ever vouchsafe a revelation, it would 
contain some matters of a positive nature; 
%dly, that every revelation, whether real or pre- 



419 



tended, which hath ever been offered, has 
actually and in fact contained such positive 
appointments, p. 199. The utility of Revelation 
in establishing outward forms of worship is 
shown in Leland's Deistical Writers, Letter 27. 



No. 31. 

Revelation founded on Facts. 

Upon the subject of this chapter, the reader 
may consult Butler's Analogy, part ii. ch. 3. ; 
also (with some caution) Chalmers's Evidence 
and Authority of the Christian Revelation ; 
Reid's Essays, vol. i. ch. 3. \ Jenkin on Christi- 
anity, vol. i. ch. 35. There are many valuable 
observations connected with this chapter to be 
found in Magee's admirable work on Atone- 
ment. See Van Milder? s Sermons at Boyle's 
Lecture, vol. ii. p. 96. 169. 182. 222. : but, 
above all, let the reader carefully digest Tatham's 
"Chart and Scale of Truth," a work which 
displays the real nature of theological evi- 
dence, and the folly of looking for demonstra- 
tion on subjects of probable reasoning. See 
vol. i. c. 11. sect. 3. See Bonnet's Philosophical 
Enquiries concerning Christianity, book. i. c. 1. 
p. 8. " As in matters of speculation and phi- 
losophical enquiry, tne only guide of what is 

EE $ 



420 

right or wrong is reason and experience ; so in 
matters either of human testimony, or of divine 
revelation, the only certain rule of truth is this 
testimony, or the revelation itself." Clarke's 
Introduction to the Doctrine of the Trinity, 

\\s7rou%svp,ev8 yoto e<rhv £7rt tocstov t a.xcn£e$ £7Tj£vjt£<v x«o 
sxoktIov ysvog, £<p' otrov rj ts Trpotypctlog (pv<ri$ s7ri^s^slon. — - 

Aristot. Eth. Nicom. lib. 1. cap. 3. 

No. 32. 

Divine Veracity. 

" All religion," says Bishop Sherlock, " ulti- 
mately resolves itself into trust or faith in God. 
Men are not apt to refer those conclusions to 
the head of faith which they collect from their 
own natural reason ; and yet often (should he 
not have said always ?) these conclusions have no 
other support." Discourse ii. vol. iv. p. 77 — 81. 
See also vol. i. Serm. 14. p. 368. See Stilling- 
fleet's Origines Sacra?, book ii. ch. 7« sect. 8. 
The principle which is laid down in this chap- 
ter forms the basis of that inductive philosophy 
of the human mind which it was the glory of 
Dr. Reid to have reduced into a system, and 
which has been so successfully supported by 
the writings of Beattie, Oswald, Stewart, &c. 
" Whether our belief in these cases be agreeable 
to the eternal relations and fitnesses of things, 
and such as we should entertain, if we were per- 



421 

fectly acquainted with all the laws of nature, k 
^question which no person of a sound mind can 
have any scruple to answer, with the fullest as- 
surance, in the affirmative. Certain it is, our 
constitution is so framed, that we must be- 
lieve to be true, and conformable to universal 
nature, that which is intimated to us as such by 
the original suggestions of our own understand- 
ings. If these are fallacious, it is the Deity who 
makes them so ; and therefore we can never 
rectify, or even detect the fallacy. But we 
cannot even suppose them fallacious, without 
violating our nature, nor, if we acknowledge a 
God, without the most absurd and most auda- 
cious impiety : for in this supposition it is im- 
plied, that we suppose the Deity a deceiver. 5 ' 
Beattie on Truth, parti, sect. 1. See also Stew- 
art's Elements of the Philosophy of the Human 
Mind, vol. ii. c. 1. sect. 2., who evidently com- 
prises the same principle amongst " his funda- 
mental laws of human belief." See also his 
Outlines of Moral Philosophy, p. #70. See 
Claggefs Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 2. and 3. ; also 
Clarke's Sermons on Faith in God, vol. i. Serm. IV; 
also Tillotson, vol. 3. Serm. 146. and 147. ; Chand- 
ler's Sermons, vol. 2. Serm. 1. \ Dr. Tottie's Ele- 
venth Sermon ; Leng's Sermons, p. 416, &c. ; Van 
Mildert's Boyle's Lectures, vol. ii. p. 25. 134. 197- 
Consult with attention Dr. Tatham's admirable 
e e 3 



422 



chapter on the "Theologic Principle." See Chart 
and Scale of Truth, vol. ii. ch. 1 . " Earthly things 
are the expresssive types and resemblances of 
heavenly, on which resemblances a sublime 
analogy is founded, which is the great instru- 
ment of theologic truth ; and it is upon reason- 
ing by this analogy from human testimony to 
divine, that its principle is constituted." p. % c 2. 
Also Price's Review of Morals, c. 5. p. 151 — 170*; 
also Whitby on the Necessity of Revelation, p. 4*5. 



No. 33. 

A Revelation superior to abstract Reasoning. 

" A direct and explicit law, given by Divine 
authority, is the very thing which such a short- 
sighted and imperfect order of beings as man- 
kind were peculiarly in want of; nor is any 
method so fit for governing a race of creatures 
generally unqualified for reasoning out with 
proper clearness and certainty the means of 
attaining happiness, as a distinct system of rules 
of conduct, guarded by proper sanctions. Is 
not all human government constituted on this 
foundation ?" — Burgh's Dignity of Human Na- 
ture, p. 321, &c. " The philosophers were so 
far from rejecting this method of instruction, 
that they judged tradition to be the only sure 



423 

foundation of religious knowledge. Thus 
Cotta finds fault with Balbus for going about to 
prove by natural arguments the existence of the 
Gods." — See Cicero de Nat. Deorum, lib. 3. 
cap. 4. See Campbell's Necessity of Revelation, 
sect. 8. p. 394. The great advantages of his- 
torical over abstract theology, are shown by 
Lord Hale in his Primitive Origination of Man- 
kind, sect. 4. ch. 6. p. 340. ; also by Bishop 
Horsley, vol. i, serin. 10. p. 213. ; also by Greiso 
in his Cosmologia Sacra, book 3. chap. 6. See 
Doddridge's 103d lecture, who refutes the ob- 
jections against a written Revelation in lec- 
ture 110. ; Shelton's Deism Revealed, dialogue 2. ; 
Baxter's Reasons for Christianity : " Though all 
this is legible in nature, which I have thence 
transcribed, yet if I had not another teacher, I 
know not whether I should ever have found it 
there. Nature is now a very hard book : when 
I have learnt it by my teacher's help, I can 
partly tell what is therein ; but at the first pe- 
rusal I could not understand it. It requireth a 
great deal of time and study, and help, to 
understand that which, when we do understand, 
is as plain as the highway."— Page 193. See 
also Stilling fleet 's Origines Sacrae, part 2. ch. 8. 
The peculiar advantages of an historical Reve- 
lation are eloquently described by Dr. White in 
his fifth sermon at the Bampton Lectures, p. 210. 
e e 4 



424 

The superior excellence of that evidence, on 
which Christianity depends, is shown by Tatham 
in his Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. ii. sect. 1. ; 
Atterbury's Sermons, vol. ii. serm. 2. ; Bishop 
Conybeare s Defence of Revealed Religion, ch. 1., 
in which the advantages of a Revelation over 
merely abstract reasoning, is shown with great 
force of argument. That the Christian Reve- 
lation is to be considered as historical, see But- 
ler's Analogy, part 2. ch.7. p. 321— 828. The 
numerous advantages of Revealed over Natural 
Religion, are pointed out by Whitby, in his Ne- 
cessity of the Christian Revelation. 



No. 34. 

A Revelation universal. 

What is said in this chapter relates entirely 
to the dispensation, not to the knowledge of a 
Revelation ; — considerations which, as Dr. 
Paley has remarked, are quite distinct from each 
other. " I speak of the Revelation of Chrisr 
tianity, as distinct from Christianity itself. The 
dispensation may be universal. That part of 
mankind which never heard of Christ's name, 
may, nevertheless, be redeemed, i. e. placed in 
a better situation, with regard to their future 
state, by his intervention, — may be the objects 



425 

of his benignity and intercession, as well as of 
the propitiatory virtue of his passion."— Natural 
Theology, p. 550. note. " All shades of in- 
justice, and, indeed, all harsh appearances in 
this various economy of Providence, would be 
lost, if we would keep in mind, that every mer- 
ciful allowance shall be made, and no more 
required of any one, than what might be equi- 
tably expected of him from the circumstances 
in which he was placed ; i. e. in Scripture 
language, " that every man shall be rewarded 
according to his works." — Butler 9 s Analogy, 
ch. 6. part 2. " Think not," says Baxter, 
" that all the mercies which Pagan nations 
have from God, are no acts of grace, nor have 
any tendency to their conversion and salvation. 
Doubtless, it is the same Redeemer who, before 
his incarnation, gave greater mercy to the Jews, 
and lesser to the Gentiles : he doth by these 
mercies oblige or lead men to repentance and 
gratitude," &c. — Reasons for Christianity, p. 400. 
" Why should we think that God, who is 
equally related to us all, should confine the 
effects of his goodness to a few persons, or a 
small part of mankind, — that He, whose 
bounty is so unconfined in the dispensation of 
temporal blessings, should be so partial and 
narrow in bestowing his greatest and best 
gifts," &c. — Tillotson's 190th Sermon. 



426 

No. 35. 

Not universally successful. 

See Brown against Tindal, p. 497- ; see Wes- 
ton's Enquiry into the Rejection of the Christian 
Miracles by the Heathen, passim ; see Paley's 
Evidences, part 3. chap. 4. and chap. 6. " That 
the present world does not actually become a state 
of moral discipline to man, even to the generality, 
i. e. that they do not improve or grow better in it, 
cannot be urged as a proof that it was not in- 
tended for moral discipline, by any who observe 
the analogy of nature." — Part 1. chap. 6. 

" However clear the conviction, and cap- 
tivating the charm of moral truth may be, men 
will both resist its evidence, and disgrace its 
beauty. However they may embrace and 
honour virtue in idea, as leading to the greatest 
good, they will reject and dishonour it in prac- 
tice ; for passion, which is a contrary interest, 
will prove an overmatch for reason, and will 
prevail upon the will to cultivate apparent hap- 
piness at the shrine of pleasure." — Tatham's 
Chart and Scale, vol. 1. p. %66. See also Bon- 
net's Philosophical Enquiries concerning Chris- 
tianity, book 5. chap. 7- " There are degrees 
of advantages, which, if men resist or misimprove, 
the Deity does not see fit to grant them more, 
whatever may be the consequence," &c. — 



427 

Price on Providence, p. 70. Note. See also 
p. 135 — 153., in which there are many striking 
observations connected with the subject of this 
chapter; Atterbury's Sermons, vol. iv. sermon .2.; 
Leland against Tindal, vol. ii. chap. 16., and his 
Deistical Writers, Letter 27. 

No. 36. 

Moral Candour. 

" The evidence of religion not appearing 
obvious may constitute one particular part of 
some men's trial, in the religious sense, as it 
gives scope for a virtuous exercise, or for a 
vicious neglect, of their understanding, in ex- 
amining, or not examining, into that evidence, 5 ' 
&c. — Butler's Analogy, part 2. chap. 6. Gro- 
tius de Veritate, lib. 2. chap. 19. " In natural 
philosophy, in morals, and in every branch of 
human learning, as well as in Revelation, diffi- 
culties, occasioning diversities of opinion, sub- 
sist. But he would be a bad logician who 
should infer, that nothing was certain, because 
something was questionable in each of them* — 
that facts could not be established, because 
opinions could not be reconciled." — Bishop 
Watson's Tracts, vol. i. p. 445. See Paley's 
Evidences, part 3. chap. 6. " The question is 
not whether Christianity possesses the highest 



428 

degree of evidence, but whether not having 
more evidence be a sufficient reason for re- 
jecting that which we have," &c. — Page 342— 
347. The grounds and method of reasoning in 
divinity are admirably detailed by Tatham in 
his Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. ii. chap. 2. see 
particularly p. 81—86. ; Bonnefs Philosophical 
Enquiries, book 5. chap. 8. See the conclusion 
to Dr. Price's Review of Morals, p. 452 — 462. ; 
Jenkin on Christianity, vol. i. chap. 35. That 
the same candour is required also in Natural 
Theology, see Aristot. Ethic. Nicom. lib. 1. c< X 
and Grot, de Jure, lib. 2. c. 23. 

No. 37. 
Adapted to the Poor. 

That a Religion published on divine autho^ 
rity is, in many respects, the best and plainest for 
all mankind, and particularly for the poor, is 
shown in Gur don's Boyle's Lectures, serm. 13. 

The excellence of a Visible Church, as the 
channel of religious instruction, is shown by 
Butler in his Analogy, part ii. ch. 1. p. 183. 

" The excellency of this institution will easily 
appear, if we consider it as inviting all kinds of 
persons to come and be hearers, and also the 
number of places which have been set apart for 
the performance of this religious exercise. I 



429 



nave already observed, that only persons of 
letters, or of a liberal education, presumed to 
go to the schools of the philosophers, but now- 
all ranks of men, the lowest and the most in- 
digent of the people : all, yes, the old as well 
as the young, women as well as men, have 
always free access to the schools for the edu- 
cation of Christians." Gurdorts Boyle's Lec- 
tures, serm. 14. p. 404. " To this excellent 
institution, the right and worthy notion of God 
and of his divine perfections, the just sense and 
understanding of the great duties of natural 
religion, and the universal belief and due appre- 
hension of a future state of rewards and punish- 
ments, which the generality, even of the 
meaner and more ignorant sort of people are 
now possest of, is manifestly and undeniably 
almost wholly owing.' ' Clarke's Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, p. 131. The 
extreme ignorance and profligacy of the lower 
orders amongst the ancients are shown by 
Leland and Whitby, in their respective works on 
the Advantages of Christianity. 

No. 38. 

Received by the Majority of the Learned. 

See a collection of authorities in favour of the 
Christian Revelation, in Ryan's History of 



430 

Religion, ch, 3. sect. 7- Also hindley Murray 9 s 
Power of Religion exemplified in the Testimo- 
nies of Persons distinguished for their greatness, 
learning, and virtue. 



No. 39. 

A Revelation gradual. 

For a full exposition of this argument, see 
Bihsop Law's Theory of Religion. " If neither 
all men could be made equally wise and perfect, 
nor religion be at once greatly communicated 
to all ; if the present laws of our nature are the 
best that could be, and as such ought to re- 
main inviolate, and we be left to the common 
methods of informing ourselves in natural as 
well as supernatural truth, it will follow that 
Christianity could not have been propagated 
otherwise, than, in fact, it is, viz. in a gradual, 
progressive, and partial manner." P. 32. N. B. 
It is to be lamented, that the last (the fifth) 
edition of this book is contaminated with the 
peculiar notions of this prelate upon the con- 
sequences of the Fall, which render it so dan- 
gerous in the hands of a young theological 
student. As it was originally published, it is 
free from all objections of this kind, and is a 
very valuable work. 



431 



See also Bishop Butler's Analogy, part. 2. 
ch. 3. and 4. Wilkin's Natural Religion, book i, 
ch. 12. Foster on Revelation, ch. %. Sherlock 
on Prophecy, discourses 1. and 2. ; Jortin on 
Christian Religion, 1^5. ; Clarke's Natural and 
Revealed Religion, p. 238. ; Foley's Natural 
Theology, p. 38. ; Conybeare's Defence of Re- 
vealed Religion, p. 404 — 419., in which a sum- 
mary view of the steps of revelation are deli- 
neated. " If Christianity be regarded as a 
providential instrument for the melioration of 
mankind, its progress and diffusion resemble 
that of other causes by which human life is im- 
proved. The diversity is not greater, nor the 
advance more slow in religion, than we find 
in learning, liberty, government, and laws. 
The Deity hath not touched the order of 
nature in vain. The Jewish religion produced 
great and permanent effects ; the Christian 
religion hath done the same. It hath disposed 
the world to amendment; it hath put things in 
a train ; it is by no means improbable that it 
may become universal, and that the world may 
continue in that state so long, as that the du- 
ration of its reign may bear a vast proportion 
to the time of its partial influence." Foley's 
Evidences, part iii. ch. 6. p. 347- Price's Review 
of Morals, p. 437 — 445. \ Leland's Deistical 
Writers, vol. L Letter 2. 



432 

No. 40. 
A Revelation permanent 

*' That religion which consists in believing 
the fall of man from a state of glory and com- 
munication with God, to a state of sorrow, 
humiliation, and estrangement from God, toge- 
ther with his restoration by a Messiah, has 
always been in the world. All things are passed 
away, and this remains for which all things were, 
&c. That this religion should have always 
kept its ground by continuing unalterable and 
inflexible, this is truly great and providential." 
Pascal's Thoughts, sect. 2. 

" Can any man bring himself to believe, that 
such a scheme could have been begun with the 
beginning of the world, carried on through a 
succession of 4000 years, by the instrumentality 
of a number of different persons who had no 
opportunity of concerting measures together, 
exhibiting to the view of mankind all that is 
great, important, and useful to be known and 
practised; all the Divine dispensations with 
respect to a species of rational and moral agents* 
the scope and purpose of the whole being wise, 
good, and worthy of God, and suitable to the 
wants of men, uniform in its purpose throughout^ 
teaching one grand and useful lesson from the 



433 

beginning to the end, agreeing with itself, with 
the constitution and course of nature, the strain 
of history and the natural reason of man, in 
which there appears a perfect agreement between 
types and antitypes, doctrines and precepts, pre- 
dictions and completions, laws and sanctions, 
pretensions and truth, and the whole leading to 
the highest perfection and improvement of hu- 
man nature — can any man bring himself to be- 
lieve such an universal and comprehensive 
scheme to be really no more than human con- 
trivance ?" Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, 
p. 357. 

No. 41. 

Would promote Happiness, fyc. 

u When any Religion is, as it were, in cor™ 
porated with the ordinary providence of God in 
his moral government, the credibility of it 
may, in a great measure, be determined by its 
actual and visible influence on the welfare of 
mankind. Though ultimately directed to higher 
ends, it is still relative to the constitution and 
circumstances of man ; and as its best evidence 
must arise from the conformity it has to the 
attributes of the Deity, it is difficult to conceive 
how any Religion can be supposed to derive its 



434 

origin from him, which is hostile to the tem- 
poral happiness of those to whom it is given," 
&c. — White's 9th Sermon, part 1. p. 403. See 
also Leland's Advantage and Necessity of the 
Christian Revelation, vol. i. ch. 22. ; also vol. ii. 
chap. 13. ; also Jenkin on Christianity, vol. i. 
chap. 18. ; also Fidler's " Gospel its own Wit- 
ness," part 1. chap. 6. and 7. ; also Bishop Por- 
teus's Essay on the Beneficial Effects of Christianity 
on the Temporal Concerns of Mankind ; also 
Jortin on Christian Religion, p. 143 — 154. ; 
Bates's Rural Philosophy, p. 264. ; see Ryan's 
History of Religion, chap. 3. ; Paley's Evi- 
dences, part 3. chap. 7- 



No. 42. 

Supported by Men of Probity. 

" It much confirms my belief in Christianity 
to observe, that commonly the most true and 
serious Christians are the holiest, most honest, 
and most righteous men ; and that the worse 
men are, the greater enemies they are to Chris- 
tianity : and then to think, how incredible it is, 
that God should lead all the worst men into 
the truth, and should leave the best in an 
error.' ' — Baxter's Reasons of Christianity, 
p. 353. See Nichols's Conference with a Theist, 

1Z 



435 

part 4. vol. iv. p. 283. ; see Lindley Murray 9 s 
Power of Religion exemplified by the Testi- 
monies of Men of eminent Learning and Piety. 



No. 43. 

Pre-eminent over false Revelations. 

u It must be granted, that the evidence of 
miracles seems so strong, as to render it highly 
probable that God will not suffer it to be applied 
in proof of a falsehood, without appearing by 
miracle to* turn the balance on the side of truth ; 
for should he suffer them often to be prophaned, 
to confirm what is evidently contrary to the 
principles of natural religion, or common sense, 
they would gradually grow into such suspicion 
and contempt, as we can hardly suppose his 
wisdom would permit." — Doddridge '$ Lectures, 
part 5. prop. 94. " It greatly confirms my be- 
lief in Christianity, to find, that there is no 
other religion professed in the world that an 
impartial man can rest in,'' — Baxter's Reasons 
for Christianity \ p. 852. See Christianity con- 
trasted with Mahometanism, in the fine Sermons 
of Dr. White, at the Bampton Lectures. 



ff§ 



436 



No. 44. 



To display the free Mercy of God, and to humble 
the Pride of Man. 

" Though repentance be, as we have observed, 
a part of natural religion, yet it seems to have 
been little practised by many of the Gentiles. 
Amendment of life is a comely and commend- 
able thing ; and the Pagans certainly approved 
it : but that part of repentance, which is a 
religious sorrow, and acknowledgment of past 
offences to God our Maker and Governor, and 
prayers to him to forgive them, the Gentiles 
seem, in a great measure, to have overlooked, 
both in the course of their lives and at the 
close of them." — Jortin on Christian Reli- 
gion, p. 265. That neither the expression, nor 
the virtue of humility was entirely unknown to 
the ancients (though greatly neglected by them), 
is shown by the same author, p. 285. Note. 

" Considering how greatly and how uni- 
versally pride prevails in the minds of men, how 
detrimental it is to almost all the branches of 
virtue, and how it taints and debases many ac- 
tions which would otherwise be most excellent, 
as, likewise, how ill becomes any creature, and, 
especially, a mortal and sinful creature, it is 
exceedingly probable, that the whole series of a 



487 

Divine Revelation would evidently tend to 
exalt God, and to humble man." — Tillotson, 
voL iii. p. 442. DuchaVs Presumptive Evidence, 
p. Ill — 118 ; Butler's Analogy ,part 2. chap. 3. ; 
Doddridge 9 s Lectures, prop. 95. ; see also Magee 
on Atonement, vol. i. numb. 15. Leland against 
Tindal, Introduction, p. 59 — 61. 

No. 45. 

To diffuse Natural Religion. 

*« It may be expected," says Doddridge, 
«• that a Revelation should confirm some im- 
portant truths known, by the light of nature, 
and should clear up the difficulties which hang 
on some articles in which our happiness is much 
concerned ; particularly, that it should give us 
firmer assurance of the pardon of sin, in a way 
consistent with the divine justice, and that it 
should discover more of a future state of hap- 
piness, perhaps, also, of the entrance of sin and 
calamity m the world." — Lectures, part 5. 
prop. 95. 2. The great difficulties under which 
mankind laboured, with regard to the doctrines 
and duties of Natural Religion, are shown by 
Clarke in his Evidences, prop. 5. and 7- See 
Leng's Sermons, p. 73. and p. 344 — 363. ; Le- 
iand's Advantage and Necessity of Revelation, 

F F 3 



438 

passim ; Watson 9 s Popular Evidences, part 2. 
chap. 3. 5 Ellis 9 s Knowledge of Divine Things, 
passim ; Berriman's Boyle's Lectures, serm.,1. 
and 2. ; Clarke's Enquiry into the Origin of Evil, 
vol.ii. p. 161. ; also Woodward' s Boyle 9 s Lectures, 
serm. 1. and 2. ; also by Clarke in his Evidences 
of Natural and Revealed Religion, prop. 5, 6. 
Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Religion, 
p. 438. Whitby's Necessity of Revelation, ch. 4. 

No. 46. 

Final Cause of the Creation. 

" The main business of natural philosophy," 
says Newton, as quoted by Professor Stewart, 
" is to argue from phenomena, without feigning 
hypotheses, and to deduce causes from effects, 
till we come to the very first cause, which cer- 
tainly is not mechanical, and not only to unfold 
the mechanism of the world, but chiefly to 
resolve these and such like questions : — Whence 
is it that Nature does nothing in vain, and whence 
arises all that order and beauty which we see in 
the world ? How came the bodies of animals to 
be contrived with so much art, and for what ends 
were their several parts ? Was the eye contrived 
without skill in optics, and the ear without know- 
ledge of sounds?"— See Stewart's Philosophy 



439 

of the Human Mind, vol. ii. sect. 4. chap. 6. 
There is great beauty in the following senti- 
ments of Maclaurin, which are equally applicable 
to Natural and Moral Philosophy : — « As we 
arise in philosophy towards the First Cause, we 
obtain more extensive views of the constitution 
of things, and see his influences more plainly. 
We perceive that we are approaching to Him, 
from the simplicity and generality of the powers 
or laws we discover, — from the difficulty which 
we find to account for them mechanically, — 
from the more complete beauty and contrivance 
that appears to us in the scheme of his works as 
we advance, and from the hints we obtain of 
greater things yet out of our reach. From 
what we are able to understand of Nature, we 
may entertain the greater expectations of what 
will be discovered to us, if ever we shall be 
allowed to penetrate to the First Cause himself, 
and see the whole scheme of his works as they 
are really derived from him, when our imperfect 
philosophy shall be completed." — See his Ac- 
count of Newton's Philosophical Discoveries, 
book 1. chap. 1. and 2. The same sublime an- 
ticipations which prompted Sir Isaac Newton to 
hint, " that if natural philosophy, in all its 
parts, by pursuing the inductive method, shall 
at length be perfected, the bounds of Moral 
Philosophy will also be enlarged," may be ex- 

!F 4 



440 



tended to that connection which we have 
endeavoured to establish between Revealed and 
Natural Theology, — that in proportion as the 
philosophy of the human mind is better under- 
stood, and more successfully cultivated, fresh 
evidences of the wisdom and suitability of 
Revelation will arise, till at length it shall be 
viewed as the end, and scope, and design of 
creation, tanquam portus et sabbatum hu- 
manarum contemplationum omnium. — Bacon, 
de Augment. Scient. lib. 3. cap. 1. 

" The Divine Knowledge," says Bishop Hors- 
ley 9 " is indeed too excellent for man, and 
could not have been otherwise imparted to 
him than in scraps and fragments : but these 
are then only understood when the human mind, 
by just and dexterous combinations, is able to 
restore them, in some imperfect degree, to the 
shadow and semblance of that simplicity and 
unity, in which all truth originally exists in the 
self-furnished intellect of God." Sermons, vol. ii. 
p. 24. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Part II. 

No. 47. 
On the Possible Truth of Christianity* 

6( With regard to Christianity, it will be ob- 
served that there is a middle, between a full 
satisfaction of the truth of it, and a satisfaction 
of the contrary. The middle state of mind 
between these two, consists in a serious appre- 
hension, that it may be true ; joined with some 
doubt whether it be so. And this, upon the 
best judgment I am able to make, is as far as 
any sceptic can at all be supposed to go, who 
has had true Christianity with the proper evi- 
vidence of it laid before him, and has in any 
tolerable measure considered them." Butler's 
Analogy, part ii. conclusion. See Skelton's 
Deism Revealed, dialogue 5. vol. ii. " No one, 
in his senses, ever thought that it would have 
been better that the body should have been 
made to perform its functions like a clock once 
wound up, than that it should be continually,, 
from moment to moment, at the command of 



442 

the mind to actuate it at pleasure. In the same 
manner, with respect to the moral world, it is 
not lessening the wisdom or the power of the 
moral governor to suppose interpositions neces- 
sary," &c. Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, 
p. 361. Seed 9 s Sermons, vol. iii. serm. 2. Price's 
Dissertations, towards the conclusion. 



No. 48. 
On the Desirableness of the Christian Revelation. 

See many admirable reflections on the im- 
portance of Christianity, supposing it to be a 
divine revelation, in Butler's Analogy, partii. 
ch. 1. The importance of Christianity, as an 
instrument of temporal happiness, is shown with 
great force by Ryan in his History of the Effects 
of Religion. Also by Iceland in his Advantage 
and Necessity of Revelation, part 1. ch. 22. See 
Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, book iv. 
sect. 3. " We have no where but in Scripture, 
a display of the wonders of Divine mercy to- 
wards a fallen guilty race of beings. We have 
no rational account anywhere else of a method 
for restoring a world ruined by vice. In Scrip- 
ture we have this great desideratum," &c. p. 341, 
" Of what a revelation discloses to mankind, 
one, and only one, question can properly be 
asked : — Was it of importance to mankind to 



443 

know, or to be better assured concerning it? 
In this question, when we turn our thoughts to 
the great Christian doctrine of the resurrection 
of the dead, and of a future judgment, no doubt 
can be possibly entertained. He who gives me 
riches or honours does nothing — he who even 
gives me health, does little in comparison with 
that which lays before me just grounds for ex- 
pecting a restoration to life, and a day of ac- 
count and retribution ; which thing Christianity 
hath done for millions." Paley's, Evidences, 
vol. ii. part. 3. ch. 8. Price's Dissertations, 
p. 436. Clarice's Evidences, p. 289 — 299. Leland 
against Tindal, part 1. ch. 5. and 6. ; Beattie's 
Evidences, vol. i. ch. 1 . 

No. 49. 

On the Teachableness of the Human Mind as 
connected with the Truth of the Christian Reve- 
lation. 

Whoever wishes to see the argument of this 
chapter set forth with due strength of reasoning 
should consult Brown's Essays on the Character- 
istics, essay 3. sect. 3. The suitableness of Christi- 
anity to the teachable nature of man is shown by 
Skelton in his second and third dialogues of 
" Deism Revealed." Also by Clarke in his 
Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, 
p. 283. See also Felton's preface to his sermons, 



444 



in which this subject is treated with great ability % 
also Leland's Advantage and Necessity of the 
Christian Revelation, part 2. ch. 2. Baxter's Rea- 
sons for Christianity , parts. ch.6.and7.; Whitby's 
Necessity of Revelation, ch. 1. ; Burgh's Dignity of 
Human Nature, p. 177- ; Tatham's Chart and Scale 
of Truth. " Reason consists of perception and 
judgment, and operates by comparison, and its 
office is to judge of evidences, to form and to ap- 
ply axioms, and to trace similitudes ; so that it is 
properly the instrument of truth." Vol. i. p. 34. See 
also Bonnet's Philosophical Enquiries concerning 
Christianity, in which the credibility of testimony, 
and its application to the evidence of the Gospel, 
is finely illustrated, book 2. ch. 1. and 2. Pearson 

on the Creed, article 1. Tpia s<r1i roc atlicc fo' ot iri<r1euop£V $ 
e'%oo raov aTToSs/jjewv sail §s raiila, tppowicig, xai ocpslvj, xou evvota.* 

Vide Aristot. Rhetor, lib. 2. c. 1 . ; Locke, book 4* 
ch. 15.; Reidon the Human Mind, sect. 24. 

No. 50. 

On the Evidence of Miracles. 

" There are many events, not miraculous^ 
which yet have a previous incredibility in them 
similar to that of miracles, and by no means in- 
ferior to it. The events I mean are all such phe- 
nomena in nature as are quite new and strange to 
us. No one can doubt whether these are capa- 



445 

Tble of full proof by testimony." Price's Disser- 
tations, p. 4 1 6. 

" The course of nature, truly and properly 
speaking, is nothing else than the will of God 
producing certain effects in a continued, constant, 
and uniform manner, which course, or manner 
of acting, in every moment perfectly arbitrary, 
is as easy to be altered at any time as to be 
preserved." Clarke's Evidences of Natural and 
Revealed Religion, prop. 14. p. 216.; Conybeare's 
Defence of Revealed Religion, p. 433 — 439. 

That miracles, when well attested, are the 
best proofs of a divine revelation, has been ad- 
mitted by several distinguished infidels, see the 
admission of Collins, Woolston, and Spinosa, in 
Leland's Deistical Writers, letter 36. On the 
miracles of Scripture, as a connected chain, see 
Brown on the Characteristics, essay 3. sect. 4. ; 
also Butler's Analogy, part ii. ch. 7. ; Atterbury's 
Sermons, vol. iii. Serm 8. See Burgh's Dignity 
of Human Nature, book iv. sect. 3. p. 383 — 390. 
See also Bonnet's Enquiries, book ii. ch. 3. and 4. 
" Miracles are the highest attestations which 
can be given to the truth and divinity of any 
doctrine , and supposing the doctrine not to be 
plainly unworthy of God, and contrary to those 
natural notions which men have of God and of 
religion, we can have no greater evidence of the 
truth of it than miracles. They are such an 
argument as in its own nature is apt to persuade 



446 



and induce belief." Tillotson, vol. ii. Serm. 63. 
p. 396. 

Upon the evidence of miracles as connected 
with the philosophy of facts, see Tath am 9 s Chart 
and Scale of Truth, vol. ii. ch. 2. sect. 1. " The 
facts which our Saviour laid as an important 
ground, from which men were to reason to the 
truth of his religion, are as palpable to the 
senses, and as easy to the apprehensions of all 
men, as it is possible for any facts to be ; differ- 
ing only from the most common and ordinary 
that occur in one particular, which difference 
was as clearly to be apprehended by the plainest 
conceptions as they were themselves. It is to 
this important difference that they owe their 
evidence, for whereas other facts are the effects 
of common and ordinary causes, these were still 
more obviously the immediate effects of a most 
uncommon and extraordinary cause." P. 66. 
See also Bishop Warburtorts Divine Legation, 
book 9. ch. 5. ; Atterbury's Sermons, vol. iii. 
Serm. 8. See Campbell on Miracles ; Beattie on 
Truth, sect. 8. 

One cannot but admire the modesty of an 
ancient philosopher, when speaking of the most 
suspicious kind of miraculous interference: n^* 

Is tyjs pixvli>tY}$ ty\$ ev roi$ vwvotg ysvopsvYis, Kdi Xsyopevyf 
<ruj*^aiveiv aito roov ewnvKtiV sis xoflotippovsiv pu&ibv, #1 £ 

™<rv*». Aristot. De Divin. vol. i. p. 697- ^dik 
BuVal 



447 . 

No. 51. 

On the Analogy between Christianity and Nature. 

For an extensive illustration of the reasoning 
contained in this chapter, I would beg leave to 
refer to the admirable work of Dr. Tatham, en- 
titled the " Chart and Scale of Truth." See 
particularly his remarks on the " Tkeologic 
Principle," vol. ii. ch. 2., in which he adduces 
many instances of analogical reasoning from the 
inspired writers. "In his kingdoms both of 
nature and of grace," says this powerful writer, 
" the God of all truth is wonderfully consistent 
in the mode of its dispensation, and analogy is 
that instrument of reason, by which in one as 
well as in the other, man is enabled to ascend 
from earth to heaven. From the curves and 
motions of projectiles, the astronomer rises by a 
sublime analogy to those of the celestial bodies, 
just as we see the theologist rising from the 
testimony of men, to the testimony of God ; and 
as those stupendous orbs, rolling in silent majesty 
through the vast regions of space, are infinitely 
more exalted and sublime than the projectiles 
by which they are illustrated and explained ; so 
this divine testimony, which is conveyed to the 
apprehension of men, and made a principle of 
reasoning by its analogy to human, is infinitely 



448 

superior, more exalted and sublime, in propor- 
tion as God in knowledge, fidelity, and all per- 
fection is superior to man. " The Witness of 
God is greater." P. 26. 

Upon the suitableness of Christianity to the 
nature of man, and to his situation in the world,. 
see Sherlock's Discourses, vol. iv. p. 100. ; also 
Spectator, No. 574. ; also Tillotson's Sermons, 
vol. i. Serm. 46. and vol. ii. Serm. 49. ; See also 
Scotfs Christian Life, vol. ii. ch. 2. " Nihil 
autem magis congruit cum hominis natura,. 
quam Christi Philosophia, quae pene nihil aliud 
agit, quam ut naturam collapsam suae restituat 
innocentiae." Erasmus in Matt. ch. 11. \ see also 
Bishop Taylor's preface to his Life of Christ ; 
also Fuller's " Gospel its own Witness," part 2. 
ch. 2. p. 151. " The plan of redemption 
adopted by God is perfectly consonant to the 
inclinations most prevalent in the heart of man. 
It operates both in his hopes and fears ; without 
hope, malice would carry itself to the last ex- 
tremity ; without fear, the passions would know 
no bounds." See Holler's Letters to his Daughter 
on the Christian Religion, p. 252. " The Maker 
of the earth on which we live does not appear, 
by any thing we see in it, to have intended it 
for a place of pleasure and indulgence, but of 
discipline and trial." Ogden's Sermons, vol. L 
p. I67. See the argument of this chapter illus- 



449 

t rated by Clarke in relation to all the distinguish- 
ing doctrines of Christianity in his Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, prop. IS. p. 183 
— 216. " I find in general," says Baxter, " that 
there is an admirable concord between natural 
verity and the gospel of Christ, and that grace 
is medicinal to nature, and that where natural 
light endeth, supernatural beginneth, and that 
the superstructure which Christ hath built upon 
nature is wonderfully adapted to its foundation." 
Reasons for Christianity, part ii. ch. 5. See 
the good effects of Christianity displayed by 
Dr. Ryan in his History of Religion. 

" Nor are there wanting various particulars 
in the divine government of the moral world, 
analogous in a lower sphere to the grand scheme 
of redemption. How much are we in the pre- 
sent state dependent on others for various ad- 
vantages both spiritual and temporal ? What 
gift of God do we receive without the inter- 
position of some agent? Is there not in this 
something similar to our receiving the inestim- 
able advantages of the perfect knowledge of our 
duties, the pardon of our sins, and all the bles- 
sings which religion bestows through the channel 
of a mediator between God and man? Our 
Saviour taking upon himself certain vicarious 
sufferings, by which we are to gain great advan- 
tages, is by no means foreign to the common 

G G 



450 

course of the world, in which we see very great 
hazards run, and actual inconveniences suffered 
by friends and relations for each other. He 
and his Apostles allow of this analogy. 

" In the common course of things, thought- 
lessness and folly, which, though not innocent, 
are pitiable, are the causes of very terrible mis- 
fortunes, and are, therefore, in many cases, 
provided for by the goodness of the wise gov- 
ernor of the world, so that they do not always 
prove irretrievable. A thoughtless person, by 
intemperance, runs himself into a quarrel, in 
which he is wounded : without help, he must 
perish ; and it is not to be expected that he 
should be miraculously recovered. Is it not 
the divine goodness which has furnished the 
materials necessary for his cure, made provi- 
sions in the formation of the human body for 
the accidents which it might be liable to, so that 
every hurt should not prove fatal to it, and 
engaged us to be kind and helpful to one 
another, so that we should be sure of comfort 
from one another in distress? In the same 
manner, and by the same goodness, exerted in 
a higher degree, Revelation teaches us, a re- 
medy is provided for the recovery to the divine 
mercy of a fallen and offending order of beings, 
In the case of the unfortunate person here ex- 
emplified, his being convinced of his folly, his 
being heartily concerned for it, and his resolving 



451 



never more to be guilty of the like, is not suf- 
ficient for his recovery, any more than repentance 
and reformation alone could be supposed suf- 
ficient to put offenders on a footing with inno- 
cent beings." — Burgh 9 s Dignity of Human 
Nature, part 4. sect.l. p.881. " The knowledge 
of nature is favourable to virtue, as it supplies 
analogies that are of use to ^obviate objections 
against the credibility of Religion. If Nature 
and Christianity proceed from the same author, 
it is reasonable to expect between them such 
features of resemblance, so much of the same 
style and character, as would afford evidence to 
their common original. Accordingly, such 
characters of resemblance to each other are 
found actually to exist. In particular, it is 
found, that whatever objections lie against the 
Christian Religion, the same bear with equal 
force against the constitution and course of 
Nature ; so that whoever admits the latter to 
be from God, cannot, consistently with his 
own principles, deny the general credibility, 
that the former may have proceeded from the 
same original." — Bates '$ Rural Philosophy, 
p. 188. Beattie's Evidences, vol. ii. ch. 5. Xp>? 

ju-sv 7o* ye tov aira^ 7rapa$z%ai*,svov rs xltcravlos tov xoo-pov 
sivai Toa)Tct$ toi§ ypu<pu§ we7rsio-Qai, on oca 7rep» rrjg xluyeoog 
tx.ita.vla. to<£ £>jT8<n tov Trspt au7>j£ Aoyov, raula xui irspt rwv 

ypa<p<ov. Origen. Philocal. p. 23. edit. Spencer. 

G G 2 



452 

No. 5 C 2. 

An Account of the Creation. 

" The opinions of the ancients respecting 
the creation of the world, are so confused and 
contradictory, that nothing of any consequence 
can be deduced from them*" — See Encyc. 
Britannica, article Creation. " They all agreed, 
however," says Aristotle, " that it was impossible 
any thing could be made out of nothing." — - 
Article Metaphysics, p. 664*. See also Boyle's 
Dictionary, article Epicurus, note 5. ; see also 
the first volume of Stilling fleet's Origines Sacrce 9 
wherein is shown the great uncertainty of the 
opinions of the Pagans, and the credibility of 
the Scripture accounts ; see, particularly, 
book 3. chap. 2. ; also Enfield's History of 
Philosophy, book 2. chap. 3. and chap. 9- sect. 1.; 
and Cudworth's System, vol. i. chap. 3. sect. 16, 
That the Jews, however, believed in a creation 
ex nihilo, is plain from the second book of 
Maccabees — " Look upon the Heaven, and 
all that therein is, and consider that God made 
them out of things that were not." — See the 
article Theology in Encyc. Britannica ; also 
Pearson on the Creed, Article 1. ; Doddridge's 
Lectures, Lect. 24. ; see also Leland's Advan- 
tage of Revelation, part 1. chap. 13, The 



453 

reasonableness of the Scripture account of the 
Creation is shown by Clarke, in his .Evidences of 
Natural and 'Revealed Religion, p. 186—188. 
and p. 238. ; also by Dr. Barrow, in his fine 
discourse on the Frame of the World, vol. ii. 
Serm. 6. ; also Shuckford's Dissertation on the 
Creation and Fall of Man ; also Leng's Sixth 
Sermon at Boyle's Lectures ; and Campbell's Ne- 
cessity of Revelation, sect. 8. p. 386. ; see also 
Dr. Ireland's " Paganism and Christianity com- 
pared," p. 305. ; also Bishop Wilkins's Natural 
Religion, lib. 1. chap. 5. ; Wollaston's Religion 
of Nature, p. 164. sect. 5. ; Butler's Analogy, 
part 2. chap. 7» ; Burgh's Dignity of Human 
Nature, p. 325 — 342. Upon the sentiments of 
the Heathens respecting the Creation of the 
world, see Gray's Connection of Sacred and 
Profane Literature, chap. 12. p. 128. ; also 
Gale's Court of the Gentiles, vol. i. book 3; 
chap. 3. and 4. ; also vol. ii. book 3. chap. 9: ; 
also Leland's View of the Deistical Writers, 
vol. ii. letter 30. p. 148. ; see Lord Hale's 
Primitive Origination of Mankind, particularly 
sect. 4. chap. 2. ; Grew's Cosmologia Sacra, 
chap. 1. ; also the fine discourse of Dr. Blair on 
the Creation of the World, vol. 2. Sermon 11. 
" The natural evidence of the truth of the 
Scripture about the Creation of the World, 
doth make it the more credible to me in all 
g g 3 



454 

things else ; for that is a thing which none but 
God himself could reveal to us." — Baxter's 
Reasons for Christianity r , part 2. chap. 8. See 
Nicholas First Conference with a Theist, p. 93. 
vol. i. ; see Ryan's History of Religion, chap. 5. 
That the origin of language bears witness to 
Revelation, is shown by Van Mildert, in his 
Boyle's Beet. vol. ii. p. 79., and by Magee, vol.ii. 
Note 53. 

"It is only in Scripture that a rational ac- 
count of this world is given : for in Scripture it 
is represented as God's world. The inhabit- 
ants of it are everywhere spoken of in no other 
way of consequence, than in the view of their 
being his creatures, formed for religion, and an 
immortal state of happiness after this life, and 
at present under laws and rules of discipline, 
to train them up for the great end of their 
being." Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, 
p. 340. The gross ignorance of the heathens 
respecting the origin and creation of the world, 
is shown by Dr. Woodward, in his first Sermon 
at Boyle's Lectures. " Si a Judaeis discedas, 
nescio an ullus antiquorum philosophorum mun- 
dum negavit aeternum esse. Omnes mihi aeter- 
num professi videntur esse mundum : hoc uno 
vero disjunguntur, quod nonnulli, utAristoteles, 
formam et materiam simul hujus orbis; alii vero, 
quorum facile princeps Plato, materiam tantum 
asternam, formam vero a Deo comparatam, dixe- 



455 

runt." - Mosheim's Notes on Cudworth. See also 
Sumner's Records of the Creation, particularly 
part 1. ch. 3. sect. 1. and 8. ^ Whitby on Revela- 
tion, ch.3. 

No. 53. 

Man originally innocent. 

The doctrine of man's original innocence 
might also be deduced, with considerable cre- 
dibility, from the make and constitution of our 
minds. All. our passions and affections seem 
to have proper and legitimate uses, to which they 
can be applied. " It is true," says Dr. Price, 
" that those principles, the necessity of which to- 
the preservation and happiness of the species, 
we so evidently see, often prove in event the 
causes of many grievous- evils ; but they are 
plainly intended for good. These evils are the 
accidental, not the proper consequences of them. 
They proceed from the unnatural abuse and cor- 
ruption of them, and happen entirely through 
our own fault, contrary to what appears to be 
the constitution of our nature and the will of 
our Maker. It is impossible to produce one 
instance in which the original direction of na- 
ture is evil, or to any thing not upon the whole 
the best." Review of the principal Questions of 
Morals, ch. 3. p. 1&7. Does not this view of 
human nature, when contrasted with the general 

G G 4) 



456 

prevalence of vice, betoken our being in an un- 
natural condition? See Hutcheson's Essay on 
the Passions, sect. 3. and 4. 

The doctrine of three states of the world — 
that all was created fair and good in its kind ; 
that there has been a fall and impairing of this 
original goodness; and that there shall be a 
restitution of things to their ancient beauty and 
perfection, is mentioned by Jortin, amongst the 
conformities between Pagan philosophy and the 
Christian revelation. See his Discourses con- 
cerning the Christian Religion, page 118. The 
Mosaic account of the creation of man in a state 
of innocence and dignity, is vindicated by Le- 
land against Tindal, vol. ii. ch. 14. See also 
South's Sermon on Man's being made in the 
Image of God, vol. i. Serm. 2. ; also Lord Hale's 
Primitive Origination of Mankind, sect. 4. 
c. 2. ; also Ritchie on Revelation, vol. i. page 
104 — 108. ; also Barrow's Sermons, vol. ii. 
Serm. 8. " What can be more agreeable to 
right reason, or have better effect, when really 
believed, than that God made man at first up- 
right and happy, in a state of moral rectitude ; 
that sin, which was owing to his wilful defection 
from God, was the source of all the evils to 
which human nature is now exposed, and 
which are therefore chargeable, not on God, 
or on his original constitution, but on man him- 



457 

self ; that mankind are now in a lapsed state, 
but not forsaken of God, who, in his great 
goodness, provided a remedy, and has been 
pleased to assure them of his readiness to re- 
ceive them into his grace and favour, and to ac- 
cept and reward their repentance and sincere 
obedience." LelancTs View, vol ii. letter 30. 
" The only true and fair way of judging of the 
Gospel, is to consider what is the true state of 
mankind in the world. If men are in a state of 
purity and innocence, no redemption is wanting, 
and the methods prescribed in the Gospel bear 
no relation to their circumstances. But if men 
have every where sinned, the law of nature can- 
not help them to those blessings which by the 
law of nature they have forfeited." Sherlock's 
Discourses, vol. i. p. 68. See also Discourse V. 
in the same volume ; also Chandler's Sermons, 
vol. iv. Serm. 1. and 2.; Doddridge's 164th Lec- 
ture ; Stillingfleef s Origines Sacra?, book iii. 
ch. 3. sect. 4. See the opinions of the ancients 
respecting the creation and fall of man, col- 
lected by Barrow, vol. ii. Serm. 8. " What can 
be so just a vindication of the goodness of God, 
and consequently so necessary, in order to main- 
taining in our minds worthy and honourable no- 
tions concerning Him, as the doctrine that God 
created man at first upright, and that the original 
of all evil and misery is sin ? the want of a 



458 

clear knowledge of which. truth extremely per- 
plexed the heathen world, and made many 
recur to that most absurd fiction of a self- 
existent evil principle." Clarke's Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, page 21 2. " The 
design of creating the human species was to put 
them in a way towards such happiness as should 
be fit and suitable to the nature of free moral 
agents. This rendered it necessary to place 
them in a state of discipline, the only possible 
method of learning virtue > and we accordingly 
find a lesson of obedience prescribed them, im- 
mediately on their coming into existence — 
a law, to all appearance, very easy to keep — 
only to abstain from one particular indulgence, 
being at liberty, within the bounds of moder- 
ation, with respect to others. In the state of 
things at that time, it would not have been easy 
to prescribe a particular trial which should not 
turn upon the government of passion or appe- 
tite. Being the only two on the face of the 
earth, they could not be guilty of a breach of 
duty to their fellow-creatures ; and, with the 
frequent intercourse which Scripture gives us 
reason to think they had with angels and ce- 
lestial beings, they could hardly bring them- 
selves to any positive violation of their duty to 
God, and were under no temptation to neglect 
it. That they should fall into this fatal trans* 



459 



gression of the first law given for this trial of 
their obedience, was to be expected from beings 
newly created, and wholly unexperienced, &c. 
Pitiable, undoubtedly, their case was, and the 
rather, as they were misled by temptations 
from a wicked being, more experienced than 
themselves. Accordingly their case, and that 
of the rest of the species, has found such 
pity, and such interpositions have been made in 
their favour, as we have reason, from Scripture, 
to suppose that other offending beings have not 
been favoured with." Burgh's Dignity of Hu- 
man Nature, page 344. See also Clarke's En- 
quiry into the Origin of Evil, vol. ii. page %16. 
" The evidence of the moral sense is the dictate 
of conscience, which reigns predominant in the 
human breast, as a remaining spark of its na- 
tive light, and as an indelible witness of that 
consummate purity and perfection in which it 
was originally created." Tathavris Chart, p. 225. 
" Scintilla quaedam est, et tanquam reliqui^? 
pristinae et primitive puritatis." Bacon de Augm. 
Scient. lib. 9. cap. i. See also Hutcheson's Il- 
lustrations of the Moral Sense, and his Essay on 
the Passions, sect. 3. and 4., and his Enquiry 
into our Ideas concerning Beauty and Virtue. 

" Unless we suppose some tendency towards 
perfection to be still inherent in our nature, 
some traces of our original greatness, some linea- 



460 

ments of our divine origin, how shall we explain 
the preference which has been shown, in all 
ages, for those actions which tend to the gene- 
ral good, over those which have for their object 
the advancement of the individual ? How shall 
we explain the efforts made by so many wise and 
great men, in ancient times, to disperse the dark- 
ness around them, and penetrate into that pure 
region, where they might contemplate the true 
images of God and Virtue ? How shall we ex- 
plain that noble aphorism of the old philosophy, 
" that vice is more contrary to the nature of 
man than pain, and sickness, and death, and all 
the evils which besiege mortality ?" Certainly 
it was not intended to assert that man is, in the 
common sense of the word, naturally virtuous. 
The whole world supplied but too sad and con- 
vincing evidence of the contrary. What was 
intended must evidently be this : that virtue is 
the proper perfection of man's moral nature ; 
that vice is destructive of the soul, as disease 
and death are of the body ; and that (the soul 
being far more excellent and permanent than 
the body) whatever is fatal to the former is more 
truly contrary to his nature than those things 
which assail only the latter; — a truth so moment- 
ous, and, in the opinion of Bishop Butler, so ma- 
nifest, that it has been adopted by that profound 
writer as the simplest practical basis of all 
ethical science." Bowdler's Select Pieces, vol. 2. 



461 

p. 73. " The evils to which we are exposed in 
this imperfect state appear to be the accidental, 
not natural effects of our constitution." See 
Balguy on Divine Benevolence, p. 113—128. 

No. 54. 

Founded on the Fall. 

" That mankind are now subject to the evils 
which Moses mentions as the consequence of 
the fall, viz. barrenness of the ground, pains and 
sickness in child-bearing, diseases and death, is 
undeniable. The only difference between the 
Mosaic account, and that of those who ridicule 
it is, that they suppose all the evils to be the 
necessary effects of the original constitution and 
appointment of God, but Moses supposes the 
original constitution of things to have been 
much more happy. Which of these suppositions 
is most honourable to God, and most likely, if 
believed, to have a good effect upon the minds 
of men, may be left to any individual to de- 
termine." Leland's Deistical Writers, vol. ii. 
letter 30. p. 161. See Lord Hale's Primitive 
Origination of Mankind, p. 355. ; also Magee on 
the Atonement, vol. i. p. 96 — 128. ; also Dr. Watts' s 
Ruin and Recovery of Mankind, p. 12 — 92. and 
quest. 8. where this subject is treated with great 
ability, and the reasoning is supported by numerous 
appeals to ancient writers. See also Archbishop 



462 



King's Sermon on the Fall of Man, at the end of 
Bishop Law's edition of his " Origin of Evil" 
Jortin on Christian Religion, ch. 7. " The single 
principle of human depravity, supposing it to be 
true, will fully account for all the moral disor- 
ders in the world; and the actual existence of 
those disorders, unless they can be better ac- 
counted for, must go to form the truth of the 
principle, and by consequence of the Christian 
system which rests upon it." Fuller's " Gospel 
its own Witness," p. 153. The credibility which 
Christianity derives from the doctrine of the 
fall, considered as accounting for the present 
state of human nature, may be seen finely illus- 
trated by Bishop Butler in his Sermons on Human 
Nature, and in Sumner's Records, part 3. ch. 3* 

The errors into which the ancients were be- 
trayed by their ignorance of the doctrine of the 
fall, considered as historical fact, are pointed 
out by Leland in his Advantage and Necessity of 
Revelation, vol. ii. part ii. ch. 6 — 10. See 
Doddridge's Lectures, prop. 133. and 134. and 
135. "It greatly confirms my belief of the 
Holy Scriptures, to find by certain experience, 
the original and universal depravity of man's 
nature, how great it is, and wherein it doth 
consist, exactly agreeing with the sacred words, 
when no other religion has made a full discovery 
of it." Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, part ii. 

15 



463 

p. 350. " It is the established order of nature, 
that what is propagated should resemble the 
stock from which it is produced, and should 
partake of its soundness or feel its infirmity. 
This principle obtains in every thing that hath 
life ; it is as true of vegetables as of animals. 
The husbandman builds his expectations of a 
good crop on the soundness of his seed ; bad 
seasons and untoward accidents may « prevent 
the thriving of the best ; but if the seed be 
originally vitiated, no future culture can remove 
the malady. We may lament the lot of an infant 
who is born of parents whose constitutions have 
been ruined by excessive drinking, or any other 
kind of intemperance, or who are themselves 
afflicted with any hereditary disease, but we are 
not to presume to accuse God of injustice for 
suffering it to come into the world under such 
disadvantages, and we must not expect that he 
will reverse the order of nature for its sake," &c. 
Bishop Watson's Tracts, vol. i. p. 403. That the 
heathens could not satisfactorily account for the 
origin of evil, is shown at large by Clarke in his 
Enquiry into the Cause and Origin of Evil ; also 
by Berriman in his first Sermon at Boyle's Lec- 
tures; also by Gurdon in his fifth Sermon at the 
same ; and by Whitby on the Necessity of Reve- 
lation, ch. 5. See also Butler's Analogy, part & . 
ch. 5. 



464 



No. 55. 

Delineates Man faithfully. 

" No religion," says Pascal, " but the Christ- 
ian, has described man as the most excellent of 
visible creatures, and at the same time the most 
miserable. Some, having apprehended the 
reality of his excellence, have censured as mean 
and ungrateful, the low opinions which men 
generally entertain of their own condition. 
Others, knowing the unhappy effects of his base- 
ness and misery, have exposed as ridiculously 
vain, those notions of grandeur which are so 
natural to us." See Clarke's Evidences of Na- 
tural and Revealed Religion, prop. 11. and 12.; 
Watts' s Ruin and Recovery, quest. 8. That the 
Scriptures have given a real representation of 
mankind, is shown by Stillingfieet in his Origines 
Sacra?, book iii. ch. 6. sect. 5. Sumner's Records, 
part iii. ch, 2. and 3. ; Holler on the Christian 
Religion, letter 2. and 13. - 7 Machine's Letters to 
Jenyns, particularly letter 4. 

No. 56. 

World suited to Christianity. 

The fact that we are in such a state of trial 
and probation as both reason and revelation in- 
form us, has lately received a remarkable illus- 
tration by the developement of the principle of 



465 

population. See Malthus on Population, vol. ifc 
book iv. ch. 1. and £., in which he shows that 
moral restraint is the only effectual mode of 
improving the condition of society. The fol- 
lowing passage from this unjustly calumniated 
author, will explain the views in which he con- 
siders this doctrine in relation to the precepts of 
Christianity. " I have always considered the 
principle of population as a law peculiarly suited 
to a state of discipline and trial. Indeed, I 
believe, that in the whole range of the laws of 
nature with which we are acquainted, not one 
can be pointed out which in so remarkable a 
manner tends to strengthen and confirm the 
scriptural views of the state of man on earth," 
&c. See Additions to the Essay, p. 3<25. ; also 
Mr. Sumner's " Records of the Creation," vol. ii. 
That Christianity not only supposes us to be 
placed in a state of trial, but has some trials pe- 
culiar to itself, is shown by Bishop Sherlock, 
vol. ii. discourses 7. 8. and 9. ; also Clarke's 
Sermons, vol. xi. Serm. 16. ; also Foley's 33d 
Sermon, ; also Abp. Seeker's Sermon on taking 
up the Cross. See Bishop Taylor's fine Dis~ 
courses, vol. ii. Serm. 9 — 13. and vol. i. Serm. 15. 
and 16. * ? also his Life of Christ, vol. i/ discourse 4. 
sect. 8. ; also Tottie's 2d Sermon. There are 
many striking illustrations of this argument in 
Baxter's Saint's Rest, particularly part %, ch. 9* 
part 3. ch. 12. and part 4. ch. 1. 

H H 



466 

No. .57. 
Divine Unity, 

" What can be a more necessary and excel- 
lent foundation of true Religion, than that 
doctrine which the Christian Religion clearly 
and distinctly teaches us concerning the nature 
and attributes of the One only true God ; with- 
out any of that ambiguity and doubtfulness, 
those various and inconsistent opinions and 
conjectures, those uncertain, and, oftentimes, 
false reasonings, concerning the nature of God, 
whieh, notwithstanding the natural possibility of 
discovering many of the attributes of God by 
the light of true reason, did yet, in fact, over- 
spread the world with polytheism or atheism ?'■* 
Clarke's Evidences, p. 211. 

" That however infinite and various in his 
truth, * the Lord our God is one God/ con- 
sistent with himself, and uniform in operation, 
so that one part of his truth is every where 
introductory to and illustrative of another, is 
the solid foundation of that logical analogy from 
which the natural system of the universe is a 
key to the moral, by the use of which the 
divine philosopher is enabled to unlock the 
celestial mansions. A right knowledge of the 
dispensation of Nature, will, therefore, furnish 
us with a clue which will lead us to the right 



467 

knowledge of that of grace ; and by putting 
them side by side, in a comparative estimation^ 
we shall see that the true method of interpreting 
the one, will introduce us to the true method of 
interpreting the other. Two books, or volumes 
of studies, says Bacon, are laid before us, if we 
would be secured from error. First, the Scrip- 
tures revealing the will of God, and the crea- 
tures expressing his power, whereof the latter is 
the key of the former. ,, Tatham's Chart and 
Scale, vol. ii. p. 88. See also Bonnet's Philo- 
sophical Enquiries, book 5. chap. 6. ; see the 
concluding observations of Dr. Anderson's Phi- 
losophy of Greece. The uncertain notions of 
the ancients respecting the Divine Unity, are 
shown by Whitby, in his Necessity of Revelation, 
chap. 6. 

No. 58. 

Divine Attributes — the same as in Natural 
Theology. 

See the attributes of the Divine Being set 
forth with great accuracy from the ancient 
writers by Bishop Wilkins, in his " Natural 
Religion," chap. 8 — 11. " The account given 
us in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment of the nature, perfection, and providence 
of God, is agreeable to that which the light of 
nature discovers concerning them." See Dod» 
h h 2 



468 



dridge's Lectures, part 7- prop. 125. ; also Gas- 
treWs Institutes, chap. 2. 

" The Christian scheme represents Almighty 
God, in the twofold character of the wise and 
righteous Governor of the moral world, and of 
the tender and merciful Father of his creatures." 
Burgh's " Dignity of Human Nature, 9 p. 354. 

" Impressed upon every thing we observe 
in the natural system of the Universe, the 
power, the wisdom, and the goodness of the 
Deity meet the eye in such bold and prominent 
features, as to force themselves upon minds the 
most torpid and uninformed, &c. So obvious is 
the book of nature in its most useful pages to the 
plainest understandings. With equal clearness 
and simplicity, the fundamental truths of Chris- 
tianity are revealed to all men/' &c. Tatkam 9 s 
Chart and Scale, vol. ii. p. 90. — " There is no 
verity about God, or the chief happiness of man, 
written in Nature, but it is to be found written 
in Scripture ; so that the same thing may be the 
object both of knowledge and of faith." Bax- 
ter's Saint 9 s Rest, part 2. chap. 3. 

No. 59. 

New Views of the Deity to be expected. 

" By reason is revealed the relation which 
God the Father stands in to us. Hence 
arises the obligation of the duty which we 



469 

are under to him. In Scripture are revealed 
the relations which the Son and the Holy Spirit 
stand in to us. Hence arise the obligations of 
duty which we are under to them, &c. How 
these relations are made known, whether by 
reason or revelation, makes no alteration in the 
case, because the duties arise out of the relations 
themselves, not out of the manner in which we 
are informed of them," &c. Butler's Analogy, 
part 2. chap. i. 

" If we meet with so many insuperable diffi- 
culties in the search of Nature, much more may 
we in the contemplation of its Author ; if the 
works of God do puzzle and baffle our under- 
standings, much more may they confess their 
deficiency when God himself is the object." — 
See Norris's Account of Faith and Reason, 
p. 325. 

See Barrow's Sermons on the Creed, vol. ii. 
Serm. 10., in which he explains the title of God 
as Father, Sermon 21. as the Son, Sermon 34. as 
the Holy Spirit The title of Father, he says, 
is given from its causality — " the efficient cause 
or author of any thing is' called its father" 
p. 108. " The Apostles, by the most apposite 
comparisons that nature affords, strive to adum- 
brate the ineffable manner of that eternal com- 
munication of the divine nature from God the 
Father to our Saviour, the which is that 
h h 3 



470 

generation whereupon our Lord is most truly 
and properly called, " the only begotten Son of 
God." p. 238. " In common use of most 
languages, the name of wind or spirit doth 
serve to express those things which, from the 
subtilty of their nature, being indiscernible to 
us, are yet conceived to be moved with great 
swiftness. In like manner, the Holy Scriptures, 
with regard to our capacity and manner of 
conceiving, do, with the same appellation, adum- 
brate human souls, all the angelical natures, and 
the incomprehensible Deity itself. And to God 
this name is attributed, to signify his most sim- 
ple nature, and his most powerful energy. To 
the Father is ascribed, that he freely deviseth 
what things should be done ; to the Son, that he 
disposeth them in the most wise method towards 
their effecting ; and to the Holy Ghost, that he, 
with powerful force, doth execute and effect 
them." p. 359. See more upon this subject 
in Bishop Brown's Divine Analogy, and in his 
Procedure, Limits, and Extent of the Human 
Understanding. 

No. 60. 
Describes the Deity analogically. 

For accurate information on the subject of 
this section, I would beg leave to refer to the 
works of Bishop Brown, on the " Procedure? 



471 



Extent, and Limits of the Human Understand- 
ing" and on " Divine Analogy" His ground 
of argument is this, that man " being made 
after the divine image," there must be a relation 
subsisting between our conceptions of things 
moral and spiritual and the attributes of God. 
Thus, when we assert of God that he is holy, 
just, and good, our conceptions of these attri- 
butes are first drawn from reflecting on these 
virtues as they exist in ourselves, and are then 
analogically applied to the Divine Nature, 
Thus, all our conceptions of things spiritual are 
in the nature of types of things in the heavens. 
The Scripture employs the same analogical 
language in the titles which it bestows upon 
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; 
and the same remark applies to the various offices 
of Christ, as our Mediator, Redeemer, Advo- 
cate, &c. For various illustrations of this 
principle of analogy, as discoverable in the 
works of Providence, see Paley's Natural The- 
ology, particularly chap. 15. See also Felton y s 
Vindication of the Christian Faith : " We apply 
our abstracted notions of perfection, intellec- 
tual, natural, and moral, unto God ; but though 
they are abstracted, yet they are drawn from 
those first conceptions of wisdom, goodness, and 
power, which are formed originally from sensi- 
ble ideas." p. 84. " We afterwards apply 
h h 4 



472 

these analogical principles to the peculiar arti- 
cles of the Christian faith." p. 128— 135. See 
some judicious remarks of Dr. Ridley, in his 
Sermons on the Holy Spirit, p. 5 — 11., concern- 
ing the application of this analogical reasoning 
to that doctrine of Scripture. " The whole 
analogy of nature," says Hartley, " leads us 
from the consideration of the infinite power 
and knowledge of God, and of his being the 
Creator of all things, to regard him as our 
Father, Protector, Governor, and Judge." 
Observations on Man, vol. ii. p. 17. See also 
Tillotson's Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 76. and 77- \ 
also Law's Notes to King's Origin of Evil, 
chap. 3. Note C. p. 117. " It well deserves 
our notice," says Dr. White, " that while human 
understanding has been chiefly employed in 
investigating the absolute existence of God's 
attributes, Divine Revelation usually exhibits 
them in a relative, and, therefore, a more intel- 
ligible and more interesting point of view. He 
is our Father, by whom we are protected ; he is 
our Counsellor, by whom we are instructed in 
the duties of our station ; he is our Judge, by 
whom we shall hereafter be exalted to the 
noblest enjoyments, or condemned to the most 
dreadful torments. Do not these representations 
of the Deity pass more easily into the under- 
standing, and work more forcibly on the af- 



473 

fections, than the profoundest researches of 
philosophy into the nature of infinity, or the 
most solid chain of arguments on the connection 
of cause and effect ?" &c. Bampton Lectures, 
Sermon 9. part i. p. 419. 

No. 61. 
A Mediator. 

" Perhaps it may appear strange, that this 
Lamb should have been slain for you ; and you 
may be disposed to reject the promise of eternal 
life, because you cannot comprehend the reason 
which induced God to give it you through the 
hands of a Mediator ; or because you may have 
some doubts respecting the nature and office of 
this Mediator. It is much to be lamented, that 
on this, the most important of all subjects, we 
reason worse than on any other. Would any of 
us refuse accepting the title-deeds of a great 
estate, because we knew not all the motives 
which induced the donor to send them by a par- 
ticular messenger?" Bishop Watson's Tracts, 
vol. i. p. 414. 

" It is evident that God makes us the daily 
ministers of good to one another, and chooses 
in this manner to govern the world, not imme- 
diately, but by the mediation of other intelli- 



474 

gent beings. The mediatorial scheme, there- 
fore, has nothing absurd in it, but is most wise 
and reasonable ; and the person honoured with 
that commission is the most lovely pattern of all 
moral perfection." Benson's Reasonableness of 
Christianity, parti, p. 22. Upon the mediatorial 
office of Christ, see Bishop Bradford's Sermons at 
Boyle's Lectures, 

For some beautiful moral illustrations of the 
Christian doctrine of Mediation, I would beg 
leave to refer to Mr. Fuller's " Gospel its own 
Witness," part ii. ck 3. That pardon is be- 
stowed through a mediator in a vast variety of 
instances amongst men, cannot be denied ; and 
that it is proper it should be so, must be evident 
to every reflecting mind. All who are ac- 
quainted with the common affairs of life, must 
be aware of the necessity of such proceedings, 
and the good effects of them upon society, p. 178. 
He then shows that this method is both more 
humbling to the sinner, and more for the honour 
of the offended. " The offender who should 
object to a mediator would be justly considered 
as hardened in impenitence, and regardless of 
the honour of the offended, 5 ' p. 179. " A 
sinful man might have suffered for himself only, 
(though I see no reason to believe that his suf- 
ferings would have been sufficient even for him- 
self,) but most assuredly he could have made 



475 



no atonement for the sins of another." Hal* 
ler's Letters to his Daughter, p. 262. See Mac- 
lame's Third Letter to Jenyns ; see also Magee 
on Atonement, particularly vol. i. no. 9. p. 140. ; 
also no. 18. p. 194. ; also Foster against Tin- 
dal, p. 347 — 352. ; also Brown against Tindal, 
p. 487 — 497* ; also Gale's Court of the Gentiles, 
vol. i. lib. ii. ch. 8. ; Leland's View of the Deisti- 
cat Writers, vol. ii. letter 36. p. 420. " It is 
reasonable that God should be displeased at the 
rebellion and transgression of his creatures ; 
that he should show his disapprobation of 
iniquity ; and so grant his pardon as at the same 
time to vindicate the honour of his govern- 
ment and of his laws. Now this he has accom- 
plished in a more illustrious manner in the 
death of his Son, than by showing his hatred to 
sin, in keeping sinners at a distance, and refusing 
to hear them in their own name, and in bestow- 
ing his favours through the mediation of one 
who suffered for their offences, and rose again for 
their justification," &c. Jortin on the Christian 
Religion, p. 43, ; also Tillotson's Sermons, vol. ii. 
Serm. 17. 18. 19. ; also Dr. Whichcote's Dis- 
courses, vol. 3. Serm. 5. 6. 7* ? Leland's Answer 
to Tindal, vol. ii. ch. 15. ; Scotfs Christian Life, 
vol. 3. sect. 1. 2. and 13. ; also Doddridge's Lec- 
tures, lect. 187- ; White's Bamp. Led. Sermon ii. 
p. 61. Notes. Upon the opinions of Heathens 



476 



concerning the propriety of a Mediator, see 
Bradford's Boyle's Lectures ; Beattie's Evi- 
dences, vol. ii. p. 53. - y Cudworth's System, book i. 
ch. 4. p. 467. " I believe," says Lord Bacon, 
" that God is so holy and pure, that it is im- 
possible for him to be pleased in any creature ; 
so that neither angel, man, nor world, could 
stand one moment in his eye, without beholding 
the same in the face of a Mediator." — Works, 
vol. iv. p. 413. 

No. 62. 

Miraculous Incarnation. 

It is objected that we cannot comprehend the 
manner in which the divine and human natures 
are united in the person of our Redeemer. But 
certainly this ought no more to be a prejudice 
against the belief of it, when it is revealed to us, 
and that revelation well attested by God, than 
the union of soul and body in ourselves, though 
we know not the manner of it, can hinder us 
from being fully convinced of the thing by its 
effects. But that this partaking of the human 
with the divine nature, render him a proper 
mediator and intercessor with God for man, 
cannot reasonably admit of any dispute." Leng's 
Sermons, 16. p. 492, &c. See also Tillotson's 
45th and 46th Sermons, vol. i. Scott's Christian 
Life, vol. v. discourse 2. ; Cumberland's Ob- 



477 

server, no. 64. " In several articles of revealed 
religion, we believe things of which we know 
not the manner or the reason. But is it then 
alone that we do so ? In the whole of God's crea- 
tion what do we meet with that is not more or 
less of the same sort ? We know not the essence 
of our own minds, nor the precise distinction of 
its several faculties ; why then should we hope 
to comprehend, or deny because we cannot com- 
prehend, the personal characters which we are 
told exist in the Godhead ? We know not * how 
the soul and flesh is in one man \ 9 what wonder 
then if we know not ' how God and man is 
one Christ ?' " Seeker's Sermons on Dent. c. 29. 
v. 29. " You see God in creation, why not in 
redemption ? In the former he condescends, 
according to our best philosophy, to manifest 
himself in the meanest reptile, all whose instinct 
he immediately prompts , and whose movement 
he directs and governs ; why then might he not 
manifest himself in man, though in another 
manner, and by an union with him still more 
close and intimate ?" Hurd's Sermons, vol. ii. 
Serm. 20. p. 336. -, also Stillingfleef s Origines 
Sacrce, book hi. ch.3. sect. 21. and 22. ; Og- 
den's Sermon on the Incarnation. " Some have 
made a difficulty of the Incarnation of Christ, 
as if there were in that doctrine somewhat pecu- 
liarly hard to admit, or next to absurd. But in 
such cases, where nothing is required to be 



478 

granted but what is analogous to the course of 
nature, it does not seem reasonable to hesitate 
at any supposed difficulty, which removed, 
would leave another confessedly as hard to sur- 
mount — how a spiritual being, of any rank 
whatever, comes to be immured in a material 
which is to us wholly inconceivable." Burgh's 
Dignity of Human Nature, p. 369. See Barrow's 
Sermons on the Incarnation, vol. ii. Serm. 23, 
and 24. ; Clarke's Evidences, p. 196 — 200. 



[-For No. 63. see the end of the Notes, p. 526.'} 

No. 64. 
Originality of Christ's Character. 

For the developement of the argument con- 
tained in this section, I would beg leave to refer 
the reader to the eloquent Sermon of Dr. White 
on the Character of Christ. See his Bampton 
Lectures, Serm. 5. See Duchal's first Sermon 
on the Presumptive Evidence of Christianity ; 
Clarke's Evidence of Natural and Revealed Re- 
ligion, 9AT. ; Taylor's Life of Christ, &c. ; Bishop 
Lam's Life of Christ See also some fine obser- 
vations on this subject in Burgh's Dignity of 
Human Nature, book iv. sect. 3. p. 404 — 419. ; 
Paley's Evidences, vol. ii. ch. 2. 4. and 5.; Jenyn's 
View of the Internal Evidence of Christianity. 

IO 



479 

" A Jewish peasant changed the religion of the 
world, and that without force, without power, 
without support, without one natural source or 
circumstance of attraction, influence, or success ; 
such a thing hath not happened in any other 
instance/' Paley's Evidences, vol. ii. p. 376. 

No. 65. 
The Example of its Author. 

The moral character of Christ is well illus- 
trated by Simpson in his Internal Evidences, 
ch. 4. ; also by Watson in his Popular Evidences, 
ch. 8. " No religion," says Barrow, "contains the 
like advantage of setting before us a living copy 
and visible standard of good practice, affording 
so compendious an instruction, and so efficacious 
an incitement to all piety and virtue, so abso- 
lutely perfect, so purposely designed, so fitly 
accommodated for our imitation, and withal so 
strongly engaging us thereto, as the example of 
Jesus our Lord, as it is represented to us in the 
^jospels." Barrow, vol. ii. Serm. 18. p. 194. 
See Bishop Bradford's Sermon at Boyle 9 s Lec- 
tures ; Tillotson, vol. iii. Serm. 135. and 136. 

N. B. It does not seem as if this argument 
had been sufficiently noticed, as a test and cri- 
terion of Revelation. Perhaps its practical im- 
portance has prevented many from considering its 
speculative value as an evidence of Christianity. 



480 

No. 66. 

Sacrifice. 

" The whole world had a notion of the ne- 
cessity of an expiation by sacrifice, and as they 
knew no rule by which to regulate their ex- 
piations but the nature of their sins, which 
might reasonably be supposed to require greater 
atonements according to their different degrees 
of guilt, so this begot not only a very costly 
worship, but also produced a savage practice of 
sacrificing men and women and children, ima- 
gining that the dignity of human nature, and 
the innocency of children, would be of so much 
the greater efficacy to their purpose. But since 
we are convinced of this barbarity and of the 
necessity of its abolition, it is a great instance of 
wisdom in this scheme of reconciliation, that it 
not only purposes pardon in such a way as is 
agreeable to the notions of the world by a sacri- 
fice of expiation for their sins, but also such a 
sacrifice as renders all others needless — this 
expiation being wrought by a person of such 
purity and dignity as to be sufficient for the 
sins of the whole world." Burnefs Boyle's 
Lectures. 

" The laws of nature, as well as the economy 
of our redemption, point out to us, that though 



481 

no man can with justice be esteemed for what 
another agent does, yet one may be made more 
happy, or less miserable by the means of an- 
other." Seed's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 366. See 
also Tillotson, 47th Sermon, vol. i. ; Whichcofs 
Discourses, vol. iii. Serm. 3. and 4. ; Pearson on 
the Creed, article 10. ; Bishop Porteus's 10th 
Sermon. Upon the opinions of the heathens 
respecting sacrifice and atonement, see Gray's 
Connection of Sacred and Profane Literature, 
ch. 24s. 9 and Whitby on Revelation, ch. 7. 

We are disposed to take a middle road, as 
we have already hinted, (see Note No. &5.) 
between those who, like Spencer, trace the 
origin of sacrifices to the invention of heathen 
nations; and others who consider them as 
merely arbitrary appointments of God. Whilst 
we admit of their divine institution, we suppose 
this institution to have been made in concert 
with the principles of human nature ; and under 
these limitations are disposed to admit of Bishop 
Warhurton'% reasonings, who connects the eu- 
charistic sacrifice with our sentiments of grati- 
tude, the precatory with our desire to implore 
success or to avert impending evils, and the 
expiatory with our confessions of deserving the 
same punishment which was thus inflicted on the 
victim offered. See Divine Legation, book ix. 
ch. 2. p. 136—159. He observes, that self- 

11 



482 

love, aided by superstition, (should he not 
have said by tradition.?*) made men seek for the 
pardon of their own sins by the vicarious suffer- 
ings of others, p. 155. * 

By this theory, we shall leave the original 
appointment to God, and yet connect the insti- 
tution with the principles of the human mind ; 
thus founding the doctrine, not upon an arbitrary 
exertion of divine power, but as given in cor- 
respondence to the condition and circum- 
stances of mankind. See Grotius de Jure, lib. 2* 
ch. 21. ; also Leland against Morgan, ch. 6. and 
ch. 16. -j also some fine observations in Johnson's 
Rambler, No. 110.; Seed's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 373. ; 
Potter's Antiquities, book ii. ch. 4. ; Lord Her- 
bert's Religion of the Gentiles, ch. 15. p. 314. ; 
Felton's Vindication of Christianity, p. 176, &c; 
Baxter's Reasons for Christianity, p. 253. Above 
all, Magee's invaluable work on Atonement, the 
learning and research of which have nearly super- 
seded the necessity of any other reference. Also 
Bishop Watson's Tracts, vol. i. Serm. 4., and Bishop 
Stilling feet's Discourse on Christ's Sufferings. 

* Archbishop SecJcer seems to have been of the same opinion, 
for speaking of human sacrifices, he observes, «' this custom 
seems altogether the offspring, either of diabolical delusion, 
or of priestly tyranny, combined with gross ignorance and 
frantic terror, suggesting that the most precious and most 
painful sacrifices must be the most efficacious." See his 
Sermon on Heb., ch, xi. v. 17. ; also Grotius de Satis/act, 
Christi, and Maclaine against Jenyns, Postscript, p. 266 — 272, 



483 



No. 67. 

Spiritual Aid. 

" The doctrine of God's readiness to assist 
men by his special grace in their endeavours 
after virtue, could be no more, at the best, than 
probable in the judgment of the heathens ; but 
we have in the Gospel the most express pro- 
mises thereof for our infinitely great encourage- 
ment. Tully, in his book de Natura Deorum, 
says, that their city Rome, and Greece, had 
brought forth many singular men, of whom it is 
to be believed, none arrived to such a height 
* nisi Deo juvante.' He then cites similar 
passages from Pythagoras, Hierocles, and Se- 
neca ; but none of these, he adds, could have 
assurance that God would not deny his special 
assistance to any that seriously seek after it, 
especially since men had brought themselves 
into the state of imbecillity through their own 
default/' &c. Fowler's Design of Christianity 9 
ch. 14. sect. 3., in which numerous coincidences 
may be found between revealed and natural 
theology. See Law's Notes on King's Origin 
of Evil, No. 71. ch. 5. sect. 5. p. 422— 435. See 
also some passages of the ancients cited by 
Jortin on Christian Religion, p. 285. Note ; and 
in Doddridge's Lectures, 1J5. and 178., where 

11 2 



484 

many others are adduced which show how nearly 
the hopes of the heathens approached to the 
doctrines of the Gospel. See also Tillotson, vol. i. 
Serm. 47. vol. iii. Serm. 149. ; also a fine dis- 
course by Dr. Tottie, Serm. 7. ; Paley's 14th , 
23d, 24th, and 25th Sermons, particularly p. 379.? 
in which he shows how nearly the doctrine of' 
spiritual assistance is connected with the belief 
of a superintending providence. See also SJceU 
tori's Deism Revealed, dialogue 3. p. 169. ; also 
Bishop Hor sky's Sermons, vol. iii. Serm. 42. ; 
Bishop Taylor's Sermons, vol. iii. Serm. 6. For 
various beautiful illustrations of this doctrine, 
as connected with natural religion, see Price's 
Dissertations on Providence, p. 12. and p. 54. and 
93. That the wisest of the heathens owned their 
need of such assistance, is shown by Clarke in 
his Evidences, p. 153. and 178. See also Jenkin 
on Christianity, vol. i. ch. 2. ; also Ellis's Know- 
ledge of Divine Things, p. 217—238. and 282. ; 
Ogden's Sermons, vol. i. Serm. 8. and 9. and 
p. 230., in which he shows that the imper- 
ceptible influence of the spirit corresponds to 
the invisible agency of providence. See also 
Bishop Hickman's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 291. ; Til- 
lotson' s Sermons, vol. iii. p. 300. ; Bishop of 
Lincoln's Refutation of Calvinism, ch. l.p. 65.5 
Warburton's Divine Legation, book ix. ch. 4. 
" If a man of superior talents may have so great 
an influence over the actions of his fellow-crea- 



485 



tuxes, without taking away their liberty, it is 
surely reasonable to allow a much greater influ- 
ence of the same kind to him who made us." 
Relets Essays, vol. iii. Essay 4. ch. 5. p. 382. See 
Whitby on the Five Points, Discourse 6. ch. 2. 

No. 68. 
Sufferings of Christ 

ss It was a palpable notion amongst the most 
eminent pagan sages," says Dr. Barrow, " that 
no very exemplary virtue can well appear other- 
wise than in a notable misfortune. Thus Plato 
speaks of the character of a truly just man 
(as we have cited the passage). And it was, 
says Seneca, the cup of poison which made So- 
crates a great man, Cicuta magnum fecit, 
Epist. 13., and which out of prison did transfer 
him to Heaven, calix venenatus qui -Socratem 
transtulit e car cere in ccelum, Epist. 67. and 104. 
And the virtue and the innocence of Rutilius, 
he says, would have lain hid, if it had not by 
condemnation and exile received injury : while 
it was violated, it brightly shone forth, Ru- 
tilii innocentia ac virtus lateret, nisi accepissei 
injuriam : clum violatur, effulsit" — Epist. 79. 

See a most beautiful application of the suffer- 
ing example of the Founder of Christianity, to 
the circumstances of human life, in Ogden's 
11 3 



486 



Sermons on the Incarnation and Ascension. See 
also Grotius de Veritate, lib. 5. chap. 19. and 
lib. 4. chap. 12., in which he adduces the most 
eminent pagan philosophers asserting the argu- 
ment of this chapter. See also Sherlock's third 
Discourse, vol. i. and Discourse 10. vol. 3. 
There are some ingenious observations on this 
subject in Hartley on Man, vol. ii. prop. 39. - y 
also Tillotson's Sermons, vol. ii. Sermons 12. 
and 13. ; and also Serai. 64. and 138. 

The advantages derived from the humble 
appearance of Jesus are stated by Watson, in his 
Popular Evidences, chap. 6. part 2. See also 
Adam Smith' s Moral Sentiments, parti, ch. 3. : 
" Upon that corruption which is occasioned by 
a disposition to admire the rich and the great, 
and to despise or neglect persons of poor and 
mean condition." See also Seeker's Sermon on 
Romans, chap. 14. v. 9. ; also Barrow's Sermons, 
vol. ii. Serm. 25. and 26. " The Gentiles, 3 ' 
says Jortin, " ought not to have slighted and 
rejected the Gospel upon account of the low 
estate and sufferings of Christ and his Apostles. 
Their own reason, and some of their most 
approved writers, might have taught them not 
to value persons according to their greatness 
and riches, nor to measure the favour of God 
by temporal happiness, but to love and honour 
oppressed innocence," &c. &c. ; and he cites 
many remarkable passages from their writings. — 



487 

See his Discourses on Christ. Religion, p. 40 — 50+ 
See many others adduced by Tillotson, vol. iii^ 
Sermon 138.. Quare quaedam dura (boni) pa- 
tiuntur? Ut alios pati doceant, nati sunt in 
exemplar. Vide Senec. de Provident, cap. 6* 

No, 69. 

Resurrection of the Body. 

The argument of the resurrection of the 
body, as it relates to the immortality of the 
soul, is very forcibly stated by Bishop Sherlock, 
in his 6th Discourse of his first volume \ also 
the 17th Discourse of vol. iii. ; also by Abp. 
Sharp, vol. i. Serin. 12. -, Fowler's " Design of 
Christianity," chap, 14. sect. 3. Scotfs Chris- 
iian Life, voL iii. sect. 14. See the analo- 
gies in favour of a Resurrection from the 
natural world, collected by Watson, in his 
Popular Evidences, p. 61 — 64., also p. 132 — 134. ; 
see also Bishop Hor sky's fine Sermon before the 
Humane Society, Sermon 39. vol. iii., also 
Sermon 43., wherein he states the connection of 
the Resurrection of the body with the doctrine 
of rewards and punishments. The same shown 
by Tillotson, vol. iii. Serin. 140. \ Seeker on 
the Catechism, lect. 16. 17. ; Chandler's Sermons, 
vol. i. Serm. 9. ; also the fine discourse of Bishop 
Taylor, vol. iii. Serm. 7. Dr. Tottie considers 
that the doctrine of the Resurrection of the 

1 1 4 



488 



body was prevalent amongst the Jews, and that 
it had descended from the first Revelation. — See 
his 13th Sermon. See also Paley's 35th Sermon. 
The natural arguments for the Resurrection of 
the body are stated by Doddridge, in his 21 6th 
Lecture. See also Barrow's Sermons, vol. ii. 
Sermon 30. and p. 378. See Baxter's " Rea- 
sons for Christianity," for some curious moral 
arguments in favour of the Resurrection ; also 
Cudworth's Intel. System, vol. ii. p. 794. ; Bates's 
Rural Philosophy, p. 189. ; Jenkin on Chris- 
tianity, vol. ii. chap. 27. ; Clarke's Evidences of 
Natural and Revealed Religion, p. 204 — 207. ; 
also Ogden's Sermons, vol. i. Serm. 5. and 12. ; 
see Burgh's " Dignity of Human Nature." 
" It must be owned, that the scheme of a 
restoration, or renovation, of the whole human 
nature, is incomparably more beautiful and re- 
gular, and, consequently, more likely to be 
true, than that received by the heathen world, 
which supposed the total loss or destruction of 
one essential part of nature, the body, and 
which made the future man a quite different 
being, — an unbodied spirit, instead of an em- 
bodied one." — Book 4. sect. 3. p. 373. " Ab- 
stractedly considered, i. e. without relation to 
the difference which habit, and merely habit, 
produces in our faculties and modes of appre- 
hension, I do not see any thing more in the 
resurrection of a dead man, than in the con- 



489 

ception of a child, except it be this, that the 
one comes into the world with a system of 
prior consciousness about him, which the other 
does not," &c. " To the first man, the succes- 
sion of the species would be as incomprehensible 
as the resurrection of the dead is to us." — 
Paley's Evidences, vol. ii. part 3. p. 392* Pear- 
son on the Creed, article II., in which every 
argument, whether scriptural or moral, is well 
arranged; Grotius de Veritate, lib. 2. c. 10. Ea- 
teor insitam esse nobis corporis nostri caritatem. 
Senec. Epist. 14. Query, Would not the doc- 
trine of a resurrection have explained this in- 
stinctive affection ? 

No. 70. 

Eternal Rexvards and Punishments. 

The punishments of the laws of nature are 
compared with those of Christianity by Bishop 
Hurd, in his 5th Sermon, vol. i. See also But- 
ler's Analogy, chap. 2. part 1., in which there 
is a masterly review of the objections urged 
against Christianity, on account of its containing 
the doctrines of eternal punishments ; see also 
Foster's Discourses on Natural Religion, vol. i. 
chap. 9. ; also Jenkin on the Reasonableness of 
Christianity, vol. ii. chap. 14. ; also Clarke's Evi- 
dences of Natural and Revealed Religion, p. 204. 
" That God hath appointed a day in which he 
will judge the world in righteousness, by that 



490 

person whom he hath ordained, is a doctrine 
perfectly agreeable to right reason, and to our 
notions of the attributes of God, as may appear 
from the necessity and certainty of another life 
after this ; and it is evident from the opinions of 
the wiser Heathens concerning this matter. 
Nor may it, perhaps, be altogether impertinent 
to observe, that the poets, both Greek and 
Latin, have unanimously agreed in one particu- 
lar circumstance, — that men after death should 
not have judgment passed on them immediately 
by God himself, but by just men appointed for 
that purpose." See also p. 207 — 210. ; also Og~ 
den's Sermons, vol. L Serm. 7« and 13. ; also 
Leland's Advaritages of Revelation, vol. ii. part 3. 
chap. 9- ; also Fuller's " Gospel its own Witness" 
parti, chap. 4. ; Gray's Connection of Sacred 
and Profane Literature, chap. 27. } Gale's 
Court of the Gentiles, vol. i. lib. 3. chap. 7- ? 
Leland's View, vol. ii. Letter 33. ; Pearson on 
the Creed, article 7., m which he shows how 
nearly the sentiments of the Heathens coincided 
with our own respecting a future judgment, 
p. 446. ; see also Ritchie's Doctrines of Revela- 
tion, vol. i. chap. 2. sect. 2., and vol. ii. ch. % 3, 
and 4. ; also Lord Herbert's Relig. of the Gen- 
tiles, ch. 15. p. 327. There are some excellent 
remarks on this subject in Mr. Bowdler's Select 
Pieces, vol. ii. p. 116 — 130. ; also Sherlock on 
Providence, ch. 2. 



491 

No. 71. 

Destruction of the World* 

See Doddridge 9 s Lectures, prop. 164. The 
same arguments which Maclaurin and other 
philosophers have generally applied to the past 
eternity of the world may also be used against 
its future eternal duration. " In general," he 
says, " all quantities, which must be supposed 
to decrease or increase continually, are repug- 
nant to the eternity of the world; since the 
first had been exhausted, and the last had 
grown into an infinite magnitude at this time, if 
the world had been from eternity : and of both 
kinds, there seem to be several sorts of quanti- 
ties in the universe." — See his Account of 
Newton's Discoveries, p. 395. ; see also his chap- 
ter on Comets. See Nicholas First Conference 
with a Theist: " As to the conflagration of the 
world, it was a doctrine of the highest anti- 
quity. It was constantly maintained by the 
Stoics ; but they were not the authors of it. It 
was taught before them by Heraclitus, Em- 
pedocles, and others," &c. See Leland's Ad- 
vantage and Necessity of Revelation, vol. i. ch. I. 
p. 61. Note. See also Hakewill's Apology, lib. 4. 
chap. 13. sect. 2, 3, 4, and 5., in which he has 
collected numerous opinions of the ancient 
philosophers respecting the future destruction 



492 

of the world ; also Gale's Court of the Gentiles » 
vol. i. book 3. chap. 7* The opinion that the 
world shall be destroyed by conflagration is 
shown by Enfield, in his History of Philosophy,, 
to have obtained amongst the Chaldeans, vol. i. 
p. 37., the Celts, p. 96., the ancient Etrurians, 
p. 98., the Stoics, p. 338 — 340., and the Pytha^ 
goreans, p. 412. 



— * Sic cum compage soluta 

Secula tot mundi suprema coegerit hora, 
Antiquum repetens iterum chaos, omnia mistis 
Sidera sideribus concurrent. Lucan, lib. 1. v. 73. 

No. 72. 
Mysteries of Christianity . 

" The doctrine that God was in Christ re- 
conciling the world unto himself, mysterious as 
it must ever appear to the eye of curiosity, 
opens to the ingenuous heart reflections of the 
highest importance: and who may take upon 
him to say, that so great a use was not even 
among the reasons of this awful dispensation? 
The redemption of mankind by the death and 
suffering of the Son of God, is the greatest proof 
of Divine mercy, and, at the same time, to a 
noble, nay to any mind, the greatest discoiir 
ragement to vice that it is possible to be con- 
ceived by man ; the strongest obligation that is 
in all nature to gratitude, the sublimest and 
most peaceable inducement to repentance^* 



493 

Ogden's Sermons, vol. i. p. 172. That the dif- 
ficulties in natural and revealed religion are 
no excuse for infidelity, is shown at large in 
Mr. Gur don's Boyle's Lectures. " Though the 
mysteries of Christianity may transcend human 
reason, not one of them contradicts it. That 
there is a Mediator between God and man, can- 
not appear contrary to reason, or in any degree 
impossible, when we consider that all the good 
things we receive come to us by the inter- 
vention of various agents and instruments. 
That the Divine dispensation, with respect to 
the human race, should comprehend a long 
train of effects and causes, and a long succes- 
sion of years, will not seem extraordinary to 
those who have observed, as every considerate 
person must have done, that the growth of 
plants and animals, and all other operations of 
nature, are gradual and progressive. The in- 
carnation is not to us more unintelligible than 
the union of a human body with a human soul. 
To atone voluntarily for the sins of others, may 
be as possible to a superior being, and in him 
may be as consonant to equity, as, amongst in- 
ferior beings, for one man gratuitously to pay 
another's debts. That the grace of God should 
exert itself in supporting, cherishing, and 
sanctifying the true believer, is as easily under- 
stood as any other exertion of Divine goodness - y 
and that there should be a resurrection of the 



494 

body is suitable to many analogies of nature, 
and particularly to that alluded to by the 
Apostle, of a new and flourishing vegetable 
rising from a buried and corrupted grain of 
corn/' Beattie's Evidences, part 2. p. 53 — 55. 
See a fine Sermon on the Mysteries of the Christian 
Faith, by Bishop S tilling fleet ; also Sumner's Re- 
cords, part 3. ch. 3. 

No. 73. 
Its Positive Institutions. 

Lord Bolingbroke acknowledges of baptism 
and the Lord's supper, " that no institutions 
can be imagined more simple or more void of all 
those pompous rites and theatrical represent- 
ations that abounded in the religious worship of 
the Heathens and the Jews, than these two 
were in their origin. They were not only inno- 
cent but profitable ceremonies, because they were 
extremely proper to keep up the spirit of true 
natural religion by keeping up that of Christ- 
ianity, and to promote the observation of moral 
duties, by maintaining a respect for the reve- 
lation which confirmed them." See his Works, 
vol. iv. essay 4. sect. 7- ana * 39. 

Bishop Horsley has treated this subject with 
great judgment in his two discourses on the 
Sabbath. See his Sermons, vol. 2. Having as- 
serted the essential difference between primary 



495 

and positive duties, (the one being the end for 
which man was created, the other being made 
for man,) he thus asserts the excellence and pro- 
propriety of these institutions which are peculiar 
to our religion. " They are not mere arbitrary 
appointments of no meaning or signification, 
they are not useless exactions of wanton power 
contrived only to display the authority of the 
master, and to imbitter the subjection of the 
slave. They were made for man, they were ap- 
pointed for the salutary influence which the 
Maker of man foresees they are likely to have 
upon his conduct," p. 190, &c. See also Foster 
on the Christian Revelation, ch. 4. ; also Brown 
against Tindal, p. 194 — 296., where this subject 
is treated with great acuteness. See also Wollas- 
ton's Religion of Nature, p. 222. sect. 5. ; also 
Butler's Analogy, part ii. ch. 1. ; Price's Disser- 
tations, p. 371. The evidence which is derived 
from positive institutions, is considered by 
Watson in his Internal Evidences, ch. 13. See also 
the third and fourth rules laid down by Leslie in 
his Short Method with the Deists. See also Bishop 
Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Religion, p. 154 
— 193. ; also Bishop Stillingfleet 9 s Irenicum, 
ch. 3. and 4. The advantage of the positive in- 
stitutions of Christianity is shown by Whitby on 
Revelation, p. 244., from contrasting their purity 
with the flagitious rites of Pagan superstition. 



496 



No. 74. 

Dependent on the Will of God ; our Enquiries 
to be confined to Facts. 

" If men should give themselves up to starting 
such questions about every thing in nature and 
religion, whether almighty power cannot alter 
every thing from what it is, and make it some- 
thing else ; what jargon would they make of 
philosophy and divinity ? The true question is, 
not what almighty power can do, but what it 
hath done." See Brown's Procedure, &c. p. I67. 
" Of plain facts well attested, and of plain con- 
clusions drawn from them, we are competent 
judges. But for creatures who have only a 
very imperfect acquaintance with a very small 
part of the world for a few years, to think of 
prescribing by what steps the all- wise God must 
conduct the affairs of it, and at what period he is 
bound to do any thing, and that if he does 
it at all ; is such amazing presumption, as no 
degree of ignorant boldness in deciding about 
the highest points of earthly knowledge make 
any approach to; and were it carried on to its 
full length, it must end in downright atheism." 
Seeker's Sermon on Gal. ch. 4. v. 4. " With all 
our incapacity of judging beforehand what a 

15 



497 



revelation ought to have been, it does not follow 
that we may not be sufficiently qualified to judge 
of its evidence and excellence, now it is delivered. 
And this is enough to determine us to what is 
right, and safe for us to pay to it all due re- 
gard." Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, 
p. 333. See also Seed's Sermons, vol. iii. Serm. 2. 
It is well observed by Dr. Magee, (vol. i. 
No. 17. notes,) that the Scriptures do not autho- 
ritatively pronounce on the necessity of that 
scheme of atonement which they contain ; and 
that it does not become us to pronounce whether 
God could not have saved the world had he 
seen fit, by some other means than the death of 
Christ. So Atterbury, vol. iii. Serm. 3. p. 69. 
" Far be it from us to say, that infinite good- 
ness and wisdom could have found out no other 
expedient. But since this and no other was 
made use of by God, we must needs think 
it was the most proper, and the best proportioned 
to those ends and purposes for which it was 
designed." Many important authorities con- 
nected with the subject of this chapter are to 
be found collected in the appendix to Van 
Mildert's Boyle's Lectures. See, above all, Ta- 
tham's Chart and Scale of Truth, vol. ii., in which 
he investigates the nature of theological evidence 
with great acuteness, particularly ch. 2. sect. % 
p. 93 — 103. See also War bur ton's introduction 

K K 



498 



to the ninth book of his Divine Legation ; 
Locke, book 4. ch. 16. sect. 13, 14. 

No. 75. 

Its Evidences numerous and various. 

" The whole evidence for Revelation is not 
prophecy alone, nor miracles alone, nor the sub- 
limity of its doctrines alone, nor the purity of 
its precepts alone, nor the character of Moses 
and the Prophets, of Christ and his Apostles 
alone, nor the internal characters of simplicity 
in the writings of Scripture alone, nor any one 
of the other channels of proof alone 5 but the 
joint coincidence, and accumulated effect, of 
them all combined." — Burgh's " Dignity of 
Human Nature" p. 376. The connection of 
the internal with the external evidences of 
Christianity is well pointed out by Bishop 
Horsley, in his 42d Sermon, vol. iii. ; see Clarke's 
Evidences, p. 215. ; see Watson's Popular Evi- 
dences, part 2. chap. % Upon the principles of 
miraculous and prophetic evidence, see Tatham's 
Chart and Scale, vol. ii. chap. 2. : " As miracles 
formed a necessary supplement to the moral 
evidence, so the vast chain of prophecy, ful- 
filling and to be fulfilled, confirms the truth of 
miracles, in which they originated, and which 
they now supply, wonderfully co-operating with 
both, and uniting in one great design > forming 
15 



499 

together a magnificent and stately system of 
evidence, equally to be admired for the sym- 
metry of its distinct parts, and the harmony and 
disposition of the whole." — P. 78. 

The connection of the external with the in- 
ternal evidences of Christianity is shown by 
Bonnet, in his Philosophical Enquiries, book 5. 
chap. 11. 

Tpiwv yap aulitav 8<tom, oY ctg uvSpoovroi noLpcificuvsui Tag 
vnovysa-eig, x<zi \|/eu8ov7ar t\ yap sv$vg s^cnrcCloDv ng e<pYi<rEV y ij 

$v)<rag ug-epov fjt,z1svori<rev, yj fi&Xopevog ££rjcr$£V>]<re. tqvIcov 8s, to 
ju,*v s(/li <pawK^g vrpoaipsoscog, to 8e aa^zvag xpi<reoog } to $e 
svheag Ivva^wg. 7rav1a §s 6 ®eog SKirs^svys. too (piXayaQop, to 
omaTYiXov* x, fisftaiop, to nzaXivaypziov x, too TsXeatspfoo, to 

alsksuTvilov. — Stobceus, Serai* 2. p. 139. 

The connection of divine with human testi- 
mony is pointed out by Hooker, Ecclesiastical 
Pol. book 2. sect. 7« ; m Baxter's Saint's Rest, 
part 2. ch. 3 — 8.; and Locke, book 4. ch. 16. 

No. 76. 

Ites£ Assistant of Natural Religion. 

" Miracles not only contain a new demon- 
stration of God's existence, but strengthen the 
proofs it draws from the frame of the world, 
and clear them from the two principal objec- 
tions of atheism, viz. either that the world is 
eternal, or that it owed its existence to the 
fortuitous concourse of atoms," &c. — kSee 
k k 2 



500 



Farmer on Miracles, p. 546. " Prophecy," 
says Lord Bacon, " is no other than a species of 
history ; divine history having this prerogative 
over human, that the narrative may precede as 
well as follow the events." — De Augment, sect. 1. 
See also Felton's Vindication of the Christian 
Faith, p. 403 — 409. ; Hartley on Man, vol. ii. 
chap. 2. p. 126 — 136. ; Leland against Morgan, 
chap. 12. > Hard's 4<th Sermon on Prophecy, 
particularly p. 94. ; Grew's Cosmologia Sacra, 
book 4. chap. 6. ; Beattie's Evidences, vol. i. 
chap. 2, sect. 2. ; see Bishop Gibson's Second 
Pastoral Letter. See some fine observations on 
the evidence of miracles and prophecy in 
Tatham's Chart and Scale, vol. ii. chap. 2. ; 
Conybeare's Defence of Revealed Religion, 
chap. 5 — 8. ; also in Baxter's Sainfs Rest, part 2. 
ch. 4. ; Pearson on the Creed, article 1. p. 39. ; 
Butler's Analogy, part 2. ch. 1. 5 and Leland' s 
View, letter 2. 

No. 77. 
Christianity universal in its Design. 
See Gur don's Boyle's Lectures, Serm. 14. 
p. 418. •? Watson's Popular Evidences, chap. 5. ; 
Tillotson's 190th Sermon, where Christianity is 
shown to be a universal Revelation, 1st, from the 
person who published it ; 2dly> from its nature 
and design ; 3dly, from the prophecies concern- 



501 



ingit; 4thly, from the remarkable assistance 
given by God at its first publication, p. 559. 
That the efficacy of Christ's death may extend 
farther than the knowledge of it, see Bishop 
Bradford's last Sermon at Boyle's Lecture, " If 
we consider the nature of this Revelation, it 
will appear to be designed for trie general use 
and benefit of mankind. The matters revealed, 
whether concerning God or ourselves, this 
world or the other, are of universal concern- 
ment. The laws of this Religion are not cal- 
culated for any particular place or nation, one 
more than another ; and the arguments and 
encouragement to the obedience of these laws 
are equally fitted to work upon all capacities and 
conditions, and apt to affect them alike, because 
they equally touch the interests and concern- 
ment of all men, &c. There is nothing in the 
Christian Religion but what is fit for all men to 
know and practise, in order to their present 
peace and comfort, and their future and eternal 
happiness. These things are, surely, of uni- 
versal and equal concernment to all mankind." 
Tillotson ut supra. " Great and inestimably 
beneficial effects may accrue from the mission 
of Christ, and especially from his death, which 
do not belong to Christianity as a Revelation \ 
L e. they might have existed, and they might 
have been accomplished, though we had never 
kk 3 



502 

in this life been made acquainted with them. 
These effects may be very extensive : they may 
be interesting even to other orders of intelli- 
gent beings. 1 think it is a general opinion, and 
one to which I have long come, that the bene- 
ficial effects of Christ's death extend to the 
whole human species. It was the redemption 
of the "world. ' He is the propitiation for our 
sins ; and not for ours only, but for the sins of 
the whole world/ 1 John, ii. 2. Probably the 
future happiness, perhaps the future existence 
of the species, and more gracious terms of ac- 
ceptance extended to all, might depend upon it, 
or be procured by it. Now these effects, what- 
ever they may be, do not belong to Christianity 
as a Revelation, because they exist with respect 
to those to whom it is not revealed" — Paley's 
Evidences, vol. ii. chap. 2. Note. Consult 
Whithy on the Five Points, Discourse 2., also 
Discourse 6. ch. 2. ; Leland's View of Deistical 
Writers, letter 2. 

No. 78. 

Professes to be Universal. 

For a most luminous exposition of the uni- 
versal nature of the Christian dispensation, I 
would refer to the fine discourses of Dr. Bar- 
row, vol. iii. Sermon 39—41. ; also to Mr. 
Fawcett's 7tk Sermon. See Balguy's Second 



503 



Letter to a Deist ; also his Moral Tracts, p. 333. 
" Though the redemption purchased by the Son 
of God is not, indeed, actually made known 
unto all men, yet as no man ever denied but 
that the benefits of the death of Christ extended 
backwards to those who lived before his appear- 
ance in the world ; so no man can prove, but 
that the same benefit may likewise extend 
itself forward to those who never heard of 
his appearance, though they lived after it." — 
Clarke's Evidences of Natural and Revealed 
Religion, p.. 201. Whitby on the Five Points. 

No. 79. 

The Divisions of Christians. 

" If there be any thing in this way of argu- 
ing," says Leland, " it might be equally turned 
against Natural Religion, or even against the 
common principles of sense and reason, to show 
that nothing is to be depended upon, either in 
Religion or in any thing else," &c. — See his 
answer to Morgan's Moral Philosophers, ch. 16. 
p. 484. ; also his Answer to Tindal, vol. ii. ch. 10. 
The divisions of Christians are considered by 
Mr. Watson as affording evidence for the main 
truth of Christianity, in his Popular Evidences, 
chap. 12. part 2. p. 421 — 425. ; also Abp. 
Seeker's Sermon, on Matt. chap. x. v. 34. ; TiU 
kk 4 



504 

lolson's Sermons, vol. ii. Serm. 64. " It is no 
objection to the doctrine of Christ, that all 
those who profess it are not saints. It would 
not be less absurd to object against philosophy, 
that ail who profess it are not philosophers. 
But does it follow from this, that philosophy is 
not well calculated to make philosophers ?" &c. 
Bonne fs Philosophical Enquiries concerning 
Christianity, p. 259. See Jenkin on Christianity, 
vol. i. chap. 34. ; Jenyns on the Internal Evi- 
dence, p. 146 — 159. ; Leland's Deistical Viexv, 
letters 1. and 14. ; see also vol. ii. p. 371. 

No. 80. 

Adapted to the Poor. 

The great superiority of the Christian Reve- 
lation over an abstract Religion, as an instru- 
ment of instructing the poor, is shown by 
Gurdon, in his Boyle's Lectures, Serm. 13. 
p. 392. ; Leland's Advantage and Necessity of 
the Christian Revelation, vol. i. chap. 22, &c. 
" In the Gentile world, whatever religious sys- 
tems the sects of the philosophers had formed 
among themselves, they were never designed to 
be the religion of the people. Were they really 
in possession of any important truths relating to 
the nature and unity of the Divine Being, and 
to a future state, they were kept in the dark as 



505 

secret mysteries, which it was profaneness for 
the vulgar to approach, &c. The people had no 
other religion, but what was taught them by the 
poets, and modelled by the state, &c. &c. In 
this state of blindness and captivity, worthy 
it was of the Father of Mercies to send them 
a great deliverance, which could come from no 
other quarter. He sent his beloved Son to them 
with the glad tidings of salvation, which he 
faithfully delivered to them with condescension 
and delight ; and was so far from being ashamed 
of his office, that he gloried in it, as the mani- 
festation of God's paternal care for his distressed 
children, and of his own divine authority." — 
Tottie's 10th Sermon, p. 200. See also Jenkin 
on Christianity, vol. ii. chap. 5. part 3. ; Bishop 
Hurd's Sermon on Matt. chap. xi. v. 5. ; Whitby 
on the Necessity of Revelation, p. 234. 

No. 81. 

Admitted by the Majority of the Learned. 

I would beg leave to refer the reader to the 
large collection of authorities brought together by 
Dr. Ryan, in his " History of the Effects of Re- 
ligion, 99 chap. 3. sect. 7. ; Van Mildert's Boyle's 
Lectures, vol. ii. p. 99. ; also Lindley Murray's 
" Power of Religion exemplified by the Testimo- 
nies of Men of eminent Piety and Learning, 9 ' &c, 



506 

6C Could those be weak men (the founders of 
Christianity) whom the most inquisitive and 
most enlightened minds that have been on 
earth since their time, whom Baeon and Gro- 
tius, whom Newton and Boyle, whom Hooker, 
Clarke, Butler and Stillingfleet, whom Milton* 
Clarendon, Addison, Arbuthnot, and Lyttelton, 
have held in the highest veneration, as not only 
wise but inspired ? Either let the infidel ad- 
mit that the publishers of Christianity were 
not weak men, or let him prove that the great 
persons now mentioned were destitute of un- 
derstanding, or, at least in that respect, infe* 
rior to himself." Seattle's Evidences, vol. L 
p. 156. 

No. 82. 

Its Progress gradual. 

" The time of our Saviour's coming into the 
world is sometimes objected against, as if it had 
been too long delayed, supposing it ever to have 
been necessary, or even so highly beneficial to 
mankind as it is pretended : but this objection 
cannot be made by any one who does not assume 
to be as competent a judge of the fitness of the 
time as God Almighty; and it has been observed 
by some to be much like the atheist's objections 
against God's making the world — that if he 



507 



had made it at all, he would surely have made 
it sooner." Leng's Sermons, p. 493. See Bishop 
Sherlock's and Bishop Hurd's Discourses on 
Prophecy, wherein is shown the gradual ad- 
vancement of Christianity. " Provehitur re- 
ligio gradatim una cum genere humano ad suam 
puritatem et perfectionem," &c. Burnet, de 
Statu Mort. The wisdom of this progressive 
increase of religious light is shown by Leland 
in his Answer to Morgan, ch. 3. p. 113. A 
sketch of its gradations, from Adam to 
Christ, is given by Grew, in his Cosmohgia 
Sacra, book 4. ch. 7. See also Seeker's Sermon 
on Gal. ch. 6. v. 15.; Jortin, vol.7. ; also Watts' 's 
" Harmony of Divine Religions ;" Doddridge's 
109th Lecture ; Skelton's Deism Revealed, 
dialogue 7« ; and Bishop Law's Theory of Re- 
ligion. 

" Christianity is one of the diversified means 
by which the human character is exercised ; 
and they who require of Christianity that the 
revelation of it should be universal, may possibly 
be found to require that one species of probation 
should be adopted, if not to the exclusion of 
others, at least to the narrowing of that variety 
which the wisdom of the Deity has appointed to 
this part of his moral economy." Paley's Natu- 
ral Theology, p. 530. " In all the dispensations 
of Providence, benefits are distributed in a si- 



508 

milar manner : health and strength, sense and 
science, wealth and power, are all bestowed on 
individuals and communities, in different de- 
grees, and at different times," &c. — Jenyns's 
Internal Evidence, p. 172. 



No. 83. 
Its Existence permanent 

There are some fine reflections on the subject 
of this chapter in Mr. Cumberland's Observer, 
no. 61.; also in Watson's Popular Evidences, 
p. 402—411. See also Hartley on Man, vol. ii. 
p. 187 — 195 ; Leland against Tindal, vol. ii. 
ch. 6. The influence of learning on Revelation 
is forcibly illustrated by Bishop Warburton, 
vol. ii. Sermon 15. ; in which he traces its 
connection with the principles of human know- 
ledge. That Christianity is the preserver of 
literature, see Jortin's 1st Charge, vol. vii. " We 
should remember," says Lord Bacon, " the pro- 
phecy of Daniel concerning the latter ages of 
the world — ' Many shall run to and fro upon 
the earth, and knowledge shall be increased ;'. 
thereby plainly intimating it to be the design of 
Providence, that when the world was laid open 
to general intercourse, as by our numerous and 
long voyages it now begins to be, at the same 



509 

time also the sciences should receive increase. " 
Nov. Org. sect. 6. 

Connected with the argument of this chapter, 
and jet possessing all the force of an independent 
presumptive evidence in favour of Christianity, 
is the following observation of Dr. Paley : — 
" From the widely disproportioned effects which 
attend the preaching of modern missionaries, 
compared with what followed the ministry of 
Christ and his Apostles, under circumstances 
either alike, or not so unlike as to account for 
the difference, a conclusion is fairly drawn in 
support of what our histories deliver us con- 
cerning them ; viz. that they possessed means of 
conviction which we have not ; that they had 
proofs to appeal to which we want." Evidences, 
part 2. ch. 9. sect. 2. ; also Jenkin on Christianity, 
vol. ii. part 3. chap. ii. ; also two excellent dis- 
courses of Bishop Hurd, on Matt. xvi. v. 18. ; 
and Baxter's Saint's Rest, part % ch. 6., where 
this subject is treated with great ability. 



No. 84. 

The great Medium of Civilizatio?i. 

Upon the connection of Christianity with the 
promise of the life that now is, see the first 
chapter of Dr. Ireland's Paganism and Christ- 



510 



ianity compared. Also Paley's Evidences, vol. ii. 
ch. 7- part8. There are two fine discourses of 
Bishop Slillingfleet on the Advantage of Christ- 
ianity, as the way to happiness, Serm. 10. and 11. 
vol. iv.; also Bishop Sherlock, Serm. 4. vol.!.; 
Hartley on Man, vol. ii. ch. 2. prop. 36. ; TiU 
lotson, Serm. 5. vol. i. The social influence of 
Christianity is displayed by Leland in his An- 
swer to Tindal, vol. ii. p. 473 — 477. ; and the 
same argument is detailed by Dr. Ryan, in 
his History of the Effects of Religion, particu- 
larly chap. 3. The claims of infidelity and 
religion, as to their effects on human hap- 
piness, are also contrasted by Mr. Watson in 
his Popular Evidences, part i. ch. 2. and 3. ; 
also as friendly to useful knowledge, part 2. 
ch. 12. " Wherever the Gospel has been sent, 
the improvement has kept pace with the purity 
in which it has been held. There have been 
many dark ages in the Christian world* but this 
is no contradiction ; on the contrary, it confirms 
and illustrates this principle. For in those ages, 
men were only called Christians : they were 
totally ignorant, not only of the spirit, but even 
of the letter of the Gospel. But as soon as a 
spirit of religious enquiry broke forth, as soon 
as the New Testament was put into the hands 
of the people, at that very time a flood of. light 
poured in upon man," &c. p. 429— 435. See 



511 

also an admirable discourse by Bishop Horsley, 
vol. Hi. Serm. 40. ; also Seeker on Matt. ch. x. 
v. 34. The effects of Christianity on the man- 
ners of nations are described in the Encyc. 
Britannica, article Religion, No. 48. See also 
Mr. Fawcett's fifth Sermon on the Effects of 
Christianity. ; also Doddridge's Lectures, vol. i. 
part 5. prop. 96. See the progress and decline 
of Christianity connected with that of human 
knowledge, by Beattie in his Evidences, vol. ii. 
ch. 3. p. 35. and p. 120 — 139. See an account 
of various improvements introduced by Christ- 
ianity into the manners of nations in Jortin 
on Christian Religion, p. 144 — 155. ; also Bishop 
Porteus, on the Beneficial Effects of Christianity 
on the Temporal Concerns of Mankind. Even 
Mr. Gibbon admits the truth of this represen- 
tation. " Christianity," he says, " which 
opened the gates of heaven to the barbarians, 
introduced an important change in their moral 
and political condition." — Decline and Fall, 
vol. vi. p. TJ5. 

No. 85. 

Contradictions of its Opponents. 

Upon the general characters, arts, talents, and 
studies of infidel philosophers, I would beg 
leave to refer to the second chapter of Mr. 



512 



Watson's Popular Evidences of Christianity ; also 
to Fuller on Deism, part i. ch. 3. ; and to Clarke's 
Evidences, prop. 15. For a view of the impieties 
and practical ill effects of infidel philosophy, see 
the Abbe Barruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism, and 
Professor Robinson's Proofs of a Conspiracy. I 
beg to mention, however, that these works are 
referred to only as furnishing illustrations of the 
argument contained in this chapter, and as by 
no means pledging myself to the admission of all 
their reasonings. See also Dr. Van Milderfs 
Boyle's Lectures, vol. i. ; Bishop Gibson's first 
Pastoi~al Letter, p. 9. 

" Whenever we hear a man questioning the 
truth of our religion, before we pay any atten- 
tion, to his argumentation, let us ask ourselves 
this question, Would it not be for this man's 
interest that Christianity should be false ? The 
answer to that question will in general instruct 
us in what light we should consider his objec- 
tion," &c. Bishop Watson's Miscellaneous 
Tracts, vol. i. p. 569. 

" I cannot help observing," says a late pious 
and elegant writer, " that those bolder geniuses, 
who of late years have rejected Christianity as 
a dispensation unworthy of the wisdom and 
equity of God, have, by no means, done credit 
to their own more rational and simple scheme of 
religion, by sublimer descriptions of the charac- 



513 

ter of the Almighty, or by the expression of pro- 
founder reverence towards Him. Mr. Hume's 
language, in those parts of his Essays where he 
touches on the attributes of God, is very highly 
presumptuous, and his private correspondence 
was profane. Voltaire, a sincere theist, in one 
of his lighter works, speaks of the moral govern- 
ment of the Deity in terms of the most insolent 
and offensive levity ; and so little tendency had 
his speculations to produce an increased vene- 
ration towards the Author of all things, that 
neither his reproaches nor his authority were 
sufficient to prevent some of the most illustrious 
of his pupils from pushing his principles to the 
direct disavowal of a first cause. Both Diderot 
and Condor cet were atheists. The former, in one 
of his letters, says " Ce pauvre Voltaire radote 
un peu. II avouait l'autre jour qu'il croyait a 
Petre de Dieu." D'Alembert laboured pretty 
generally under the same imputation ; but La 
Harpe says in his letters, that he had frequently 
heard him say, " que la probabilite etait pour le 
Theisme." — La Probabilite ! See Bowdler's Select 
Pieces, vol. ii. p. 200. ; also Fuller on Deism, 
part 1. ch. 2. 



L L 



514 

No. 86. 

The only Credible Revelation. 

The subject of this section forms Dr. Clarke's 
eighth proposition in his Evidence of Natural 
and Revealed Religion, p. I67. See the effects 
of Mahometanism contrasted with those of 
Christianity, by Dr. White in his Bampton Led.; 
and by Ryan in his History of the Effects of 
Religion, ch. 4. See also Paley's Evidences, 
part ii. ch. 9. sect. iii. The impiety and impos- 
ture of Paganism and Mahometanism, are finely 
shown by Dr. Barrow, vol. ii. Serm. 14. ; also by 
Porteus in his Evidences, prop. 8. ; also by Jenkin 
on Christianity, vol. ii. ch. 6 — 9. part 3. ; Grotius 
de Veritate, lib. 4 — 6. : yet Chubb, in his hatred of 
Christianity, could affect to compliment the re- 
ligion of Mahomet ! See his Posthumous Works, 
vol. ii. p. 40. 

No. 87. 

Depends on the free Mercy of God. 

" It is manifest that the whole scheme of 
Christianity tends to inspire us with the most 
profound thoughts of God's infinite majesty, 
greatness, and purity, and at the same time to 

15 



515 



impress and affect our hearts with the most 
humbling sense of our own meanness, guilt, and 
unworthiness. It tends not to inspire us with 
pride, but with gratitude for these undeserved 
favours and benefits ; and at the same time that 
it fills us with the highest admiration at the 
Divine condescension and goodness towards us, 
it teaches us to sink into the very dust before his 
glorious Majesty, acknowledging that we are 
less than the least of all his mercies, and giving 
him the whole glory of our salvation." Iceland's 
View of the Deistical Writers, vol. ii. letter 37. 234. 
" Considering that we have received our being, 
and all that we are and have from God, and 
upon these accounts are obliged to love and 
serve him to the utmost, what senseless arro- 
gance is it to say that a creature can merit any 
thing at God's hand ? Whatever we give God 
is of his own, and when we have done all we 
can, we have done no more than our duty. 
And can any man challenge any reward for 
doing what he ought to do ? Can any man make 
satisfaction for a fault that he has committed 
by doing his duty, i. e. by not committing an- 
other ?" Tillotson, Sermon 174. vol. 3. That 
pride is the chief root of infidelity, is shown by 
Barrow, in his first Sermon, vol. ii. p. 5 — 7. 
" The prime notions of Christianity do also 
tend to the debasing human conceit, and to the 

l l 2 



516 

exclusion of all glorying in ourselves, referring 
all to the praise and glory of God, ascribing all 
to his pure mercy, bounty, and grace. It re- 
presents all men heinous sinners, void of all 
worth and merit, lapsed into a wretched state, 
altogether impotent, forlorn, and destitute of 
ability to help or relieve themselves. Such no- 
tions proud hearts cannot digest," &c. Upon the 
pride of the ancient philosophers, see Gale's 
Court of the Gentiles, book 4. part 2. particularly 
ch. % — 5., in which he shows how this principle 
acted upon the Cynics, Stoics, Sceptics, and 
Epicureans. See Hurd's Sermons, on 2 Cor. 
iv. 3., and on Matt. xi. 29. 

Yet on mature consideration, I think that we 
are fully justified in using more decided lan- 
guage than that which has been adopted in the 
text respecting the accordance of natural and 
revealed theology, upon the subject of human 
merit : for, besides the universality of prayers 
and sacrifices in the heathen world, from which 
we have deduced this approximation, we might 
also have appealed to their confessions respect- 
ing the imperfections even of the best amongst 
mankind. Thus when Horace asserts " Vitiis 
nemo sine nascitur," he adopts a sentiment 
which approaches to the declaration of Scrip- 
ture, " that all have sinned," and " that in 
many things we all offend." But we have 



sir 

still more decisive evidence for this opinion t 
we meet with these expressions in Terence, 
Adelph. Act 4. Scene 3. v. 1. : " Ego in hac re 
nihil reperio, quamobrem lauder tantopere 
Hegio, — meum officium facio." Now if senti- 
ments like these could occur in their social and 
domestic intercourse, is it not plain that they 
would apply them in a far higher sense to their re- 
lations towards God ? So again we read in the 
life of Antoninus Pius, by Capitolinus, " Impius 
sit magis qui ista non faciat, quam pius qui de- 
bitum reddat," sect. 2. But the language of 
Ovid is far more explicit : 

Quamvis est igitur meritis indebita nostris, 
Magna tamen spes est in bonitate Dei. 

Be Pont. lib. i. EpisU 6. v. 45. 

It should be remembered, however, that these 
were only occasional emotions, sufficient in- 
deed to point out the connection of this doctrine 
with the suggestions of the human mind, but 
which were not generally received by the ancients 
amongst their principles of moral science. Yet 
the expressions of Seneca are very memorable ; 
for they almost coincide with the doctrine of 
our Church respecting original sin : Quid leni- 
oribus verbis Ulcus publicum abscondo? Omnes 
mali sumus. Quicquid itaque in alio repre- 
l h 3 



518 

henditur, id unusquisque in suo sinu inveniet. 
De Ira, lib. 3. c. 26. 



No. 88. 

Improvement of Natural Religion. 

" How short the heathen systems come of 
the perfection of a true and complete morality, 
is very visible ; and since that, if the Christian 
philosophers have much outdone them, yet we 
may observe that the first knowledge of the 
truths they have added is owing to revelation, 
though as soon as they are heard and con- 
sidered, they are found to be agreeable to rea- 
son, and such as can by no means be contra- 
dicted/' &c. Locke's Reasonableness of Christi- 
anity, in Bishop Watson's Theological Tracts, 
vol. iv. p. 95. See this exemplified in the case 
of Wollaston, in Ireland's " Paganism and 
Christianity compared/ 9 p. 31 7. ; also by Ellis, 
in his " Knowledge of Divine Things," p. 49—51. 
See War burton' s Divine Legation, book 9. ch. 1., 
who justly concludes that, though reason can 
approve of truth when it is discovered, it is not 
able to find it out, without assistance. See also 
Felton's Vindication of the Christian Faith, p. 124., 
in which he demonstrates, with great force of 
argument, that whether unbelievers own their 



519 

obligation or not, they must now be influenced in 
their moral opinions by the light of Christianity. 
See also Van Milder? s Sermons, vol. ii. p. 43. and 
p. 71. "They suppose them to be the deductions 
of reason, because they are in all respects so 
congenial with our hopes and wishes, and are so 
strongly attested by every thing which passes 
under our contemplation in the natural and 
moral world, that they cannot be relinquished 
without doing violence to the feelings, and to 
the understanding." See also Deng's Sermons, 
p. 371 — 377. ; also Bishop Watson's Address to 
Deists, at the close of his Letters to Gibbon ; and 
Bishop Sherlock's first and fourth Discourses, 
vol. i. The assistance given by Revelation to 
the study of morals is shown by Grove in his 
" Moral Philosophy " vol. ii. c. 20. " How 
comes it to pass that our systems are more re- 
gular, and our deductions of virtue clearer? 
Whence are those sublime duties, and actions, 
and principles, more solid and better established 
than appear among the ancients ? Are we 
wiser than Socrates or Cicero? is our capacity of 
mind greater, our study more severe, or our 
knowledge more universal and extensive?" &c. 
Ellis's Knowledge of Divine Things, p. 50. See 
also Bishop Conybeare's Defence of Revealed 
Religion, ch. 6, 7, and 8., particularly p. 236 ; 
also Jenkin on Christianity, vol. ii. part % ch. 18. ^ 
l l 4 



520 



Sumner's Records of the Creation, vol. i. p. 209 
—215. ; and Whitby on Revelation, ch. 7. and 8. ; 
Iceland's View, letters 2. 5.10. and 31. 



No. 89. 

Eulogium of its Adversaries. 

See some acknowledgements of the ancient 
enemies of Christianity to the virtues of the 
Christians, collected by Baxter, in his " Reasons 
for Christianity," p. 359 — 365. See also several 
confessions of the value of Miracles, from emi- 
nent unbelievers, collected by Leland, in his 
Advantage and Necessity of Revelation, vol. i. 
p. 10. and p. 19. Note ; see others in Ryan's 
History of Religion, chap. 6. ; also by Tillotson, 
Serm. 65. vol. ii. There are many others to be 
found scattered in Leland 9 s View of Deistical 
Writers. 

No. 90. 

The Political Circumstances of the Jews. 

See Sykes's Connection of Natural and Revealed 
Religion, p. 195. " The Jews have continued 
upwards of seventeen hundred years a distinct 
people, though scattered up and down amongst 



521 

every nation of the earth. Their religion, their 
food, their customs, and their features, are all 
distinct from the various people amongst whom 
they live. And what marks this in a more 
strong and wonderful manner, is, that they have 
no country, no fixed settlement, no government ; 
but, on the contrary, have, for the greater part 
of this period, been the objects of hatred and 
persecution amongst the nations where they re- 
side, &c. How is it to be accounted for, that 
amidst so much scorn and persecution, they have 
never been compelled to mix and incorporate 
themselves with other people ? Upon what 
principles can we account for all this ? May 
we regard them as now atoning for the offences 
of their fathers, in rejecting and crucifying the 
Messiah? &c. Without calling in the aid of 
some such principle, this phenomenon in the 
history of mankind seems an inexplorable mys- 
tery ; and the dispersion and misery entailed on 
this infatuated people is altogether a mystery." 
Watson's Popular Evidences, p. 398 — 402. See 
Hurd on Prophecy, p. 172 — 187. ; Spectator, 
No. 49<5. \ and Beanie's Evidences, vol. i. part 2. 
sect. 2. p. 123. j Tillotson's 186th Sermon, 
vol. iii. ; Basnage's History of the Jews ; and 
Bossuefs Universal History, part 2. 



522 

No. 91. 

Superiority of its Moral Incentives. 

Upon the subject of this section, the reader 
may consult with advantage the following au- 
thorities : — Bishop Fowler's Design of Chris- 
tianity, republished in the 6th volume of Bishop 
Watson's Theological Tracts, particularly ch. 7. 
and ch. 15. ; also Abp. Sharp's Sermon 7. 
vol. ii. ; Hartley on Man, vol. ii. chap. 2. 
prop. 35. ; Bishop Horsley's Sermons, vol. iii. 
Serm. 42. ; Tillotson's Sermon 5. vol. i. and 
Serm. 189. vol. iii. ; Seeker's Sermon on Romans, 
chap. 14. v. 9. ; Chandler's Sermons, vol. i. 
Serm. 3. vol. ii. Serm. 22. ; Hurd's Sermons, 
vol. ii. Serm. 13. ; Balguy's First Letter to a 
Deist, in his Moral Tracts, p. 13 — 22. ; Bar- 
row, vol. ii. Serm. 16. ; Clarke's Evidences, 
p. 211. ; see also Foley's Evidences, chap. 2. 
vol. ii. \ also (with some caution) Jenyns's View 
of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Reli- 
gion ; Magee on Atonement, vol. i. no. 45. Notes. 
Price's Review of Morals, chap. 10. p. 440. 
Note. See the excellence of Christian motives, 
as connected with the death of Christ, well 
illustrated by Dr. Ritchie on Revelation, part 4. 
sect. 3. vol. ii., and by Whitby on the Necessity of 
Revelation, p. 204—218. 



528 

No. 92. 
Christ Divine, or Christianity Idolatrous, 

" The author of our Religion must either 
have been truly and indeed what he declares 
himself — the Son of God, the Saviour of the 
World, and his Religion a divine appointment, 
or he must have been an enthusiast, or a mad- 
man, and his Religion either a secular scheme, 
an involuntary delusion, or a pious fraud," &c. — 
Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature, p. 404, &c. ; 
also Leland's View, vol. ii. Letter 31. There 
are some fine observations, in unison with the 
argument which is here advanced, to be found 
in White's Notes to his Bampton Lectures : — 
" Is it probable that the whole Church should 
have formed a wrong idea, not only of a few 
circumstantial points, but of matters of the 
highest consequence, through every period in 
which we are capable of tracing the history of 
its opinions ? &c. This seems to be an argu- 
ment a priori against that species of Christianity, 
which some, under the pretence of refining it 
from corruption, would reduce to the level of 
natural religion." — P. 61 — 69. See Van Mil- 
der? s Boyle's Lectures, vol. i. 207—224. 

The great tendency of mankind to bestow 
Divine honours on their benefactors is pointed 



524 

out with much learning by Farmer, in his treatise 
on " The Prevalence of the Worship of Human 
Spirits in the Heathen Nations" See also Whitby 
on Revelation, p. 186 — 195., and Abp. Tennison 
on Idolatry, ch. 14., who considers the Shechinah, 
under the old covenant, and the Incarnation of 
the second person of the Trinity, under the 
Christian dispensation, as the appointed cure for 
idolatrous worship ; which appointment at once 
explains, corrects, and satisfies this tendency of 
the human mind. Query — Do not some ex- 
pressions of Scripture seem to countenance this 
theory? Thus, Christ is termed simv r« 0s», 
52 Cor. iv. 4. ; Col. i. 15. ; Heb. x. 1. wKauyad^a. 

TY IS Sojvjj xcci xupuxlrip ty}$ U7rocr1a.<Tsw$. Heb. 1. 3. 



No. 93. 

Final Cause of the Creation. 

For a fine commentary on the hints which 
are in this section, I would beg leave to refer 
to the Discourses of Dr. Chalmers on the 
Christian Revelation, as viewed in Connection 
with Modern Astronomy, particularly to his 
fourth, fifth, and sixth Discourses. See also 
Fuller's " Gospel its own Witness," part 2. ch. 5., 
in which the consistency of the Christian Re- 
demption is shown, with the modern opinions cf 



525 

the magnitude of creation ; also p. 220. upon 
the possible influence of Christianity upon re- 
mote departments of the universe ; see also 
Mr. Nares-s Treatise on the Plurality of Worlds^ 
and the countenance which this opinion receives 
from the language of the inspired writers ; also 
Beattie's Evidences, part 2. chap. 3. sect. 7- On 
the general propriety of arguing upon final 
causes, see Boyle's Disquisition on Final Causes, 
and also some fine observations of Mr. Stewart, in 
his second volume of the Philosophy of the Hu- 
man Mind, p. 478 — 498 ; see also Cudworth's 
Intellectual System, p. 676, &c. ; Deng's Sermons, 
p. 262. " The Scripture alone gives an ac- 
count of the original causes of things, the true 
springs of events, and declares the end from the 
beginning ; which shows it to be given by him 
who saw through all futurity, and by the same 
who has been from the beginning at the head of' 
the affairs of the world, who governs the world, 
and, therefore, knew how to give an account (so 
far as to his wisdom seemed fit to discover) of 
the whole current and course of events, from 
the creation to the consummation." — Burgh's 
Dignity of Human Nature, p. 341. Conybeare's 
Sermons, vol. i. Serm. 1. Lord Bacon speaking 
of the Mediatorial scheme, describes it " as the 
great mystery and perfect centre of all God's 



526 

ways with his creatures, to which all his other 
works and wonders do but serve and refer." 
Works, vol. iv. p. 414. 



[Omitted in its proper Place.] 

No. 63. 

The Mediatorial Character of Christ 

" That a world which is visibly fallen into 
wickedness and misery should have a Redeemer, 
Saviour, and Mediator towards God ; that he 
should be one who is sufficiently near unto God 
and unto man, and have the nature of both ; 
that he should be the second Adam, the root of 
the redeemed ; that God should give all mercy 
from himself, from his own bounty and fulness, 
and that therefore the Redeemer should not 
be an angel or intermediate person, but God 
himself; that guilty souls should have such 
evidence of God's reconciliation to encourage 
them, and to come to him with joy and boldness 
in their addresses, having a Mediator to trust in, 
and his sacrifice, merits, and acceptable name to 
plead before God ; that Satan, and the world, 



327 

and death, should thus be conquered in a suffering 
way, and man have a perfect pattern to imitate, 
of self-denial and humility, and exact obedience 
and resignation to the will of God ; that the 
world should be under such an universal Ad- 
ministrator, and the Church be all united under 
such a head ; that this Mediator should be one 
of our own nature, who hath risen from the dead, 
and should be in possession of the glory to 
which we are going, and thence should send 
down his spirit to sanctify us, and fit us for 
Heaven, and should afterwards be our Judge, 
and receive us into eternal blessedness : — all 
this is no less than the image and the wonder- 
ful effects of the wisdom of God." Baxter's 
Reasons of the Christian Religion, part 2. ch. 6. 
p. 268— 270. See also Archbishop Tillotson's 
I6i4h Sermon, vol. Hi. ; Doddridge's Lectures, 
prop. 144. " Every one of the arguments of 
all other intercessions is applicable here, with a 
force infinitely greater. So much our own little 
reason may teach us, that his prayer must be 
the most prevalent who is the most exalted in 
dignity and goodness, and dearest to the Father 
of all mercies." See Ogden's fine Sermons 
on Prayer and Intercession, Sermon 9. p. 98- ; 
Bossuet's Universal History, part 2.; Butler's 
Analogy, part 2. ch, 5. 



2? 



529 



APPENDIX, 



Although in the preceding notes there are 
frequent references to the ancient authors, yet 
I have thought that it would be at once in- 
teresting and satisfactory to see these authorities 
drawn out in a more regular manner. For this 
purpose I have selected some of the most striking 
passages which illustrate and confirm the general 
argument ; arranging them, as much as possible, 
according to the order of the sections. It would 
have been easy to have multiplied these illus- 
trations to an almost indefinite extent ; but 
these are perhaps more than sufficient to serve 
as a confirmation of the reasoning which has 
been employed in this work. " Facile est docere 
pene universam veritatem per philosophorum 
sectas esse divisam, nullamque sectam fuisse 
tarn deviam, nee philosophorum quenquam tarn 
inanem, qui non viderit aliquid ex vero." 
Lactant. lib. vi. sect. 7- p» 621. edit. Sparke. 



M M 



530 

No.l. 

The Possibility and Want of Revelation. 

Gentem quidem nullam video neque tarn hu- 
manam atque doctam, neque tarn immanem 
atque barbaram, quae non significari futura, et a 
quibusdam intelligi prasdicique posse censeat. 
Atque hasc, ut ego arbitror, veteres, magis 
eventis moniti, quam ratione docti, probaverunt. 
Cic. de Divin. lib. i. c. 1. et 3. 

Divinatio, unde oriatur, non intelligo. De Nat. 
Deor. lib. iii. c. 6. 

Nihil est quod Deus efficere non potest, et 
quidem sine labore. Idem, de Divin. 

Quae Phoebo Pater Omnipotens, mihi Phoebus 
Apollo 
Praedixit. Virg. 

As»v yap nepi aula ev ye t\ tovtoov fact7rpa%u<rQau, >j poiQsn 
oitYj ?%£<> f\ eupeiv >} ei ravla aovvalov, tqv yuv |SeX7*<r7ov 
row avSpotMivoM Xoyonv Xot&ovlcc xoti dvcretZsXeyxTQTCtTOV, exi 
T8T« oyovpevov, cti<T7rsg &ki <r%eha$, xwluvevovia hairXeVKrai tov 
£iov si jxvj Tig IvvaClo ourQaXsalspov aoti ctxivtiuvolepov em 
§e£aiolepu oxYipoflog, y\ Koys 0eis tivo$ } hanopevfyvai. JPlat0 9 

Phced. vol. i. p. 85. Edit. Serrani. 

Oj ye ap^aioi to itapa tcjov Qeoov eirpso-QevGy /xaAAov xai 
scejxvuvov Kcti dia tsto o %f>Yicrlypia£o[X,evo( yv tots nokv(» 

Strabo, lib.xvi. 



531 



To ftsv aXYjQsg, ca %evs, di'i^vpi^sa-Qca Tay7a slag s^etv P 
vroWoov ay.<pi<r$YJl8v1uv, 0£« evlf. Plato de Leg. lib. 1. 

Tou7o §*) to jxepos ^a/jtsv <pyo-£* xupicultxlov, xoii dvvalov oiov rs 
y,ct\Kr1a xcti ctpiala paQsiv, si §*oWxo< rig' u\\' uft av didcitsisv, 

si pj 0eoj vfYiyoflo. Idem in Epinomide. EfJa. tov 

Xonrov xpovov x.tx.Qsv'tiovlsg ZiarsKons av, si jar] T<va cikXov V[liv 
6 Osog S7ri7rsju,\|/£*r], xr)So//.svo£ y^wv. Idem, Apolog. So- 
CTClt. Eu yap yjpr\ £<Seva*, 6 ti 7rep av crcofiyj re xa» ysvrflcu 
oiov dsi, sv T0»au7>j xa7ao~7ao~£< 7ro\ilsioov, 0£« [xoipctv ccSlo <ru)<ra.i. 

Idem, de Repub. lib. vi. 

OwSsv sxfyvysi to 0£iov touto yivoocrxsiv <rs dsi* 
Avlog eoT ajw-wv s7ro?r7v]£* a£yvaT£i 8* «$£v 0£«. 

Epicharmus. 

Ovk sivoli Ta jaev 8yya7a toj 0sa>, Ta 8s a8yva7a, ooa-vep 
Qis<rQcci t»5 aroQityfxevxg, aAAa 7rav7a 8yva7a. 

Pythag. apud Iamblicum. 

Qsog (rvvspyctiv 7rav7a 7roi£t pofiiot* 
Ovfav fa ywpig daipovog crfrsvsi fipolog. 

Menander. 

Aia Tay7a oYo 0so£, efaipapevog T«7a>v vovvylsloig (n-oiiflaif) 
%pvpa» vnripsloug, xou roig ^pria-^oohig, xoli roig [lolvIsvi roig 
Oeioig* »va »]]&£*£ oi ctKOVOvlsg sitoopev oil ow^ ovloi sio~lv oi Ictvla 
Ksyovlsg, aloi) itoKKs u%iu, oig vovg jxr) nctpscfliv, aAA* 6 Qsog 
uulog so-7»v 6 \eycov. Platonis Ion. vol. i. p. 534. 0&7. 
SerrCMU ITep* twv roislcov vopoQsrsio-Qai fiifixiwg, Quposvlct 

|K,£A*) Ta T»]V Op0OT*}Ta <QU(TSl 7r0tpS%0pSVOl* T8T0 §£, Qs8 VJ 0£JS 

Tivof av siy\. Idem, de Leg. lib. ii. vol. ii. p. 65J. 

T.ov ju-ev 7ro<»jT>)V *a» %otlspct Tafa T8 iravlog, svpsiv T£ epyov, 
xati gypovla, «$ *rav7aj aSuvalov Xsyeiv. Idem, TimCBUS. 

M M 2 



532 

Esse divinum quiddam, quod daemonion (So- 
crates) appellat, cui semper ipse paruerit, num- 
quam impellenti, saspe revocanti. Cic. de Divin. 
lib. i. c. 54. 



No. 2. 
The Creation of the World, fyc. 

Quis non hinc aestimet mundum quandoque 
coepisse, nee longam retro ejus aetatem, cum ab- 
hinc ultra duo retro annorum millia de excellenti 
rerum gestarum memoria ne Graeca quidem extet 
Historia? Macrob. in Som. Scip. lib. ii. c. 10. 
p. 108. Edit. Gronov. 

Si nulla fuit genitalis origo 
Terrai et Coeli, semperque seterna fuere, 
Cur supera bellum Thebanum et funera Trojae, 
Non alias alii quoque res cecinere Poetae ? 

Lucret. lib. v. v. 325. 

Quod et praeterita teneat et futura provideat 
et complecti possit praesentia, haec Divina sunt. 
Nee invenietur unquam, unde ad hominem ve- 
nire possint, nisi a Deo. Cic. Tusc. Qucest. 
lib.i. 

Eij roti$ u\r\Qeioa<riv, si$ svliv Qeog, 
Oj spavov t sTsvgs tcoli yaiav paxpcLVj 
Ylovls re ycipoirov o&[J.ol } xotvsfxcov /3<av. 

Sophoc. Frag. 



533 



Et/ T0(T8T«) ify leoKefUtt xcn clourti xai faoiQamoi, even. i$oi£ ay 
sv 7T«o->j y»j opotpcovov vopov xui Xoyov, or* Seog eig navlm 
(3ct(n\evg xcti 7ra7vjp, xou Ssoj iroKKoi, 0e« i:oL\%eg i crvvoip^ovleg 
Qeop. Tutilcc 6 EXAvjv Key si, xau 6 (3ap£oipog Keyei, xcti 6 
vfwetfi&ilfis, xou ^sotKotrlidg, xat 6 <ro<pog xcu o ouiotQQg. Mux, 

Tyr. Disp. i. p. 6. Edit Davis. 

Ap^uiog pev ovv rig Koyog xou nulpiog e<fli irouriv avSpcoTroig, 
cog ex 0e« roc ireivlu, xou ha Qea r\^iv crvvealYixsv sdsfju&t fa 
<pva~ig } uv1yi xocP eocvlrp ocvlocpx^gy epYijxcoQeicoi rr^g ex mis 

a-ctilripicLg. Arisiot de Ccelo. vol. i. c. 6. p. 610. 
Edit Dm Vol. 

De nihilo quicquam fieri, nulli physico placet. 
Cic. de Fato. c. 8. 

No. 3. 
Man originally Innocent, 8$c. 

Vetustissimi mortalium nulla adhuc mala libi- 
dine, sine probro, scelere, eoque sine poena aut 
coercitionibus agebant. Tacit Annal. lib. iii. 
Vetus ilia aetas, cui fecimus Aurea nomen, 
Fcetibus arboreis et quas humus educat herbis, 
Fortunata fuit ; nee polluit ora cruore, &c. 

Ovid. Metam. lib. xv. v. 95. 
Sese mortali ostendere coetu 
Ccelicolae, nondum spreta pietate solebant. 

Catul. de Nup. Pel. et Thet 
Et Deus humana lustro sub imagine terras. 

Ovid. 
m m 3 



534 

To itotXaiov 7CmvT t\v uXqirm k&i aXevpoov ^Xrjpr], xot&oncgf 
jcai wv xoVccag' xcn Kprpoa h'sppeov, ai psv vbotlog, yuXtxxhg 
8* aXkcii' Kca opoiwg ui pev (teXilog, an ftoivu, Tivsg 8* ekcus' axo 
7rX»)(rjXOo-yv>3j 8' oi uv§pa)7roi kou Tpv$i\g, sag v%pw sfi*7re<rov. 
Zevg 8s ^<r^o-ag ty\v xa1a<rlct<riv, ^avias Tccuvia, kcli 8ia ttovs 

tov §iov unsfofc. Strabo, lib. xv. 

Qj 7T07T01, OlOV 8>] VU $58$ fip&Ol CtfliOVUvlcU* 

E£ Yipectiv yap fmri kol% sppeMf oi 8s nou auloi 
2;<p»j(ni/ aTOL(T$aKi^(Tiv vnsp popo-v ct\ys s%8<riv. 

Horn. Odyss. i. v. 32. 

Tsg TtaXaisg xui eyyvg becov <f»]<n ysyovolag, fizhmcrTsg re 
ovlctg <py<rs» xon tov cipurlov efyxolug Gtov, cog y^ptxr^v ysvog 
vofu^soSoii Ttapa^oLKXo^svsg itpog lag wv, x.^y\Ks nut fav\o~ 
7a7)jj VKOLpypvlug v\v\g, pj8sv <povevsiv s/mJ/u^ov. Povpht/r, de 

Abstin. lib. iv. p. 142. Edit Cantab. 1655. 
Aurea prima sata est aetas, quae, vindice nullo, 
Sponte sua sine lege fidem rectumque colebat. 

Ovid. Met lib. i. v. 90. 



No. 4. 
The sinful Condition of Man, &c 

Multis signis Natura declarat quid velit — ob- 
surdescimus tamen nescio quo modo, nee au- 
diemus. Cic. de Amicit 

Quod si talis nos Natura genuisset, ut earn ip- 
sam intueri et prospicere, eademque optima duce 
cursum vitae conficere possemus, haud erat sane 



535 

quod quisquam rationem et doctrinam requi- 
reret. Nunc parvulos nobis dedit igniculos 
quos celeriter malis moribus opinionibusque de- 
pravati sic restinguimus, ut nusquam naturse 
lumen appareat, Cic. Tusc. Qucest. lib. iii 
sect. 1. 

Nam si consensu omnium Philosophorum, 
sapientem nemo assequitur, in summis malis 
omnes sumus, quibus vos optime consultum a 
Diis immortalibus dicitis. Nam ut nihil inter- 
est utrum nemo valeat, an nemo possit valere ; 
sic non intelligo, quid intersit, utrum nemo sit 
sapiens, an nemo esse possit. Cic. de Nat Deor. 
lib. iii. 

Nam vitiis nemo sine nascitur; optimus ille est 

Qui minimis urgetur. Hor. 

Quis non timeat omnia providentem et cogi- 
tantem et animadvertentem et omnia ad se per- 
tinere putantem, curiosum et plenum negotii 
Deum ? Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. 1. 

£l<nrep yccp xai ra roov wxrspidcov o^olIol 7rpo$ to <psyyc$ 
e%si to ju-ed' Yj^epoLVj utco xai tv\$ vfastepoLS tyvxyg 6 vac, %pog 
to. ry <pv<rei QuvepuluToi noivlwv. Aristot. Metaj)hyS. 

lib. ii. c. 1. vol. ii. p. 856. Edit. Du Vol. 

O miseras hominum mentes, O pectora caeca, 
Qualibus in tenebris vitae, quantisque periclis 
Degitur hoc aevi, quodcunque est! 

Litcret lib. iu v. 14. 
m m 4> 



536 



Telo ecrli to ctHiov toi$ otvQpoo7roi$ 7rctvloov toov xuxcm, to toc$ 
itpohvfysis tu$ koims p] 8uva<70a» stpapiAQ^siv tok; exi. f^spsg. 

Epict. lib. iv. c. 1. p. 538. Edit. Upton. 

E$o£g ^yj, koli vuv £Ti faxst, To. [j,sv ctWa. S7n1v}fav[j,ctlce. %ctvlci 
ov o~<podpcc yjx'K'S'KOL sivw to fa Tivct tooxov ypr\ yiyvevfiou 

xprio-lus uvQpco7rsg 9 ntarfxixhz'Kov. Plato in Epinomide. 

Ka< fj,av&avca psv otx tipotv [J,zWw kukcc 
Qvpos fa xpeio~o-oov toov spoov £«AsUjU,aTcov. 

Eurip. Medea. 
— Video meliora proboque, 
Deteriora sequor. Ovid. 

Ky.aplot.ysi ti xai o~o<pts o-otyoilspog. 

JEschyl. apud Stobceum. 

Tevec-Qot.1 \lev uv^pot otyaftov ^otKzxov uX^soog • oiov re \j*ev\oi 
£7Ti ys xpovov 1wol' ysvopsvov fa, faupeyftv sv 1«ufy ry efjet, %ai 
sivai avdpot oty&Sov, udvvalov, xcti &x avQpoo7TSK>v. — 

kxjiccp avrip ocyoi$o$, tote \lev xuxog, ccWote ftsoSkos* 

Plat. Protag. vol. i. p. 344. Edit. Serrani. 

Flens animal ceteris imperaturum, et a sup- 
pliers vitam auspicatur, imam tantum ob culpam^ 
quia natum est. Plin. lib. vii. c. 1. 

No. 5. 
On Sacrifice and Atonement. 

Beneficium superveniens injuriam apparere 
non patitur. Senec. de Benejic. 

Sic JEschylum, narrat JElianus, a poena Iibe- 
ratum, quia frater ipsius Amyntas pro patria for- 



537 

titer fecisset. Sic apud Romanos, Tito Quin- 
tio accusato, profuit patris Cincinnati memoria. 
Livius de Appio. " Majorum merita in Rem- 
publicam commemorabat, quo pcenam depre- 
caretur." Plautio," inquit Tacitus, " mors re- 
mittetur ob patrui egregium meritum." Et in 
universum Sallustius u sideliquere vetus nobilitas, 
majorum facta fortia praesidio adsunt." Cicero : 
" Oportebit eum qui sibi ut ignoscatur postu- 
labit, majorum suorum beneficia, si qua exta- 
bunt, proferre." Quintilianus : " Periclitantem 
commendant merita majorum." Grot, de Satis- 
fact ch. 6. 

Nee vero me f ugit quam sit acerbum paren- 
tum scelera filiorum pcenis lui ; sed hoc prse- 
clare legibus comparatum est, &c. Cic. Epist 
ad Brut. 1%. 

Tu autem etiam Deciorum devotionibus pla- 
catos Deos esse censes. Quae fuit eorum tanta 
iniquitas, ut placari Populo Romano non possent, 
nisi viri tales occidissent ? Id. de Nat. Deor. 
lib. iii. c. 6. 

Zaleucus, urbe Locrensium a se saluberrimis 
atque utilissimis legibus munita, cum filius ejus 
adulterii crimine damnatus, secundum jus ab 
ipso constitutum, utroque oculo carere deberet, 
ac tota civitas in honorem patris poenae necessi- 
tatem adolescentulo remitteret, aliquamdiu re- 
pugnavit. Ad ultimum, precibus populi evic- 



538 

tus, silo prius, deinde filii oculo eruto, usum 
videndi utrique reliquit. Ita debitum supplicii 
modum legi reddidit, aequitatis admirabili tern- 
peramento, se inter misericordem patrem et 
justum legislatorem partitus. Val. Max. lib. vi. 
c. 5. 

Pro vita hominum nisi vita hominis reddatur, 
non posse Deorum immortalium numen placari 
arbitrantur. Caesar, de Gallis, lib. vi. e. 16. 

Men' piacularem oportet fieri ob stultitiam 
tuam ; 

Ut meum tergum stultitise tuae subdas succi- 
daneum ? Plaut.Epidic. act.i. seen. 2. v. 36. 

Ut caedes manifesta aliquo piaculo lueretur, 
imperatum est patri, ut filium expiaret. Liv. 

Vetus priscis temporibus opinio obtinuit, februa 
esse omnia, quibus malefactorumconscientiae pur- 
garentur, delerenturque peccata. Plin. 

Homines, ut victimas immolabant et impuberes 
aris admovebant, pacem Deorum sanguine eorum 
exposcentes. Justin, lib. 18. 

Plebeiae Deciorum animas plebeia fuerunt 
Nomina : pro totis legionibus hi tamen, et pro 
Omnibus auxiliis, atque omni plebe Latina, 
Sufficiunt Dis infernis, Terraeque parenti. 
Pluris enim Decii, quam qui servantur ab illis. 

Jwo. Sat. viii. v. &54. 

Yiavlec, yap ev T8T00 ooixoXoytjcrav 01 SsoXoyoi, o)$ sis airle'ov 
■«v ra<? wTFOrrpoircuois §v<ricy$ roov Svopevow xa$itporiot>$ to 



539 



%py<rieov 3 {M\ yap ioi tjj sij arh, jar) ^ s^ oixov idiw, jxyj 
vpolspov g<rStjla *a* crcti^a irdlafMis y\ mjyj] aTrojcaSrrjpas, <pacnv. 

Porphyr. de Abstin. lib. ii. p. 87. jE*S& Cantab. 
1655. 

Autjx syco npoolog xeko^v 0£ov jAacrx£o-$a«. 

fiTeww. //. i. v. 386. 

EvSosSs jxtv Totvpouri xai apvsiois iXaovlai. 

Horn. II. ii. v. 550. 

Tijxa)M,£V Se T8£ (dea$, yj xaxoov pev a7coipOTtriv 3 uyaStov Se 
wapaa-jceuv)!/ ijjxiv yjV£cr$a» Zrflsvles, y 7rp07rs7rov$QTss sv 3 t\ iva 
tv^od^sv axpsXeiag tivo$, rj xala rrjv \[/<Avjv r>)£ ayadnjj at/7cov 
€^£«jj gjcTJjxrjcrjv* axfle'xat rcov £coa;v si anapxTsov aula §eoi$ 
T8TWV tivq$ svexx Svfaov xai yap a Svopev, tutcuv rivog evsxa 

3uojX£v. Porphyr. de Abstinent. 

KaSappala e\eyov1o 3 o» £7rj xa§ap<rei Koi^a rivog, *} Tivog 
srspag vovs Suopsvoi roi$ 0£o<$. Sckol. ad AriStoph. 

Plut. p. 24. .EcfcY. Kusteri. 

Oulcoc s7rsksyov too xaT eviavlov crvvs%0VTi roov xaxvov. 
Ilepnjnjjxa tjjuaw ysvs, rjro* uoirr\pia xai avo\vTpwri$, xai 
sveGaKov tyj $a\a<r<TYj axravei tw Tlo<rsticiovi -Swiav a7ro1ivvuv1s$. 

Suidas in voce T^pjv^a. 

Apud Herodotum, lib. 1. Phryx Adrastus 
homicidio pollutus xa$ap<ns ehsro — Croesus ipsum 
exaSype- similem dicit esse xaSapo-iv apud Lydos et 
Graecos: Persuasissimum habebant gentes delictis 
hominum offendi et irasci Deos. Irani tamen 
hanc sperabant averti posse quibusdam victimis. 
His dicebatur placari numen, reus ipse, aut 
tiomo, aut populus purgari, sive februari, pec- 



540 



catum ipsum piari et lustrari. Queis omnibus 
in unum collectis, videbimus haud immerito de 
his sacris Plinium exclamasse, " adeo ista toto 
mundo consensere, quanquam discordi et sibi 
ignoto." Grot, de Satisfact. Christ cap. 10. 
Omni autem in re consensio omnium gentium 
lex Naturae putanda est. Cic. Tusc. Qucest. lib. i. 
c. 13. 



No. 6. 
Divine Assistance. 

Nemo unquam vir magnus sine aliquo Divino 
afflatu fuit. Cic. de Nat Deor. lib. ii. 

Est Deus in nobis, sunt et commercia Coeli, 
Sedibus sethereis Spiritus ille venit. Ovid. 

Too 8' ctv 7fovavh xoa Qsog cruAAaja£avsj. 

Mschyl. Persce. 

AAA* otuv 0"7reu(fy tj$ uv1og } yw Qsog <t\)vol , k\zIcl\<, 

Idem. 

0<rov £7TJ 1oi$ ®soi$, xcti tolis sxeiSev dictfo<rs<ri XOLi <roA- 

k^S(Tl XOLl ZTTIVOIOU;, pj&SV XOOXSVSIV Yj^Yj Xtxio. <pV(TlV Xj)V JW-S, >) 

a« , oAg«re<r<3 r «* ell tsts Trotpct tyjV spjv ufliav, xai noipci to ja>) 
£>ja7>jpsiv Tug sx Icov @ewv VTTGpvYi<rsi$, xaa jxovovs^* 8<$acr- 

xaA»aj. Anton, lib. i. c. 17- 

An potest aliquis supra fortunam, nisi a Deo 
adjutus, exsurgere ? ille dat consilia magnifica 
et erecta. In unoquoque virorum bonorum> 



541 

(quis Deus incertum est,) habitat Deus. Senec. 
EpisL 41. 

Ai ds upiulau ^y%»3$ <pu<rei$j ajU.<p»o~£7jT»)(njU,oi sv jtxelpjoj 
TYj$ cx,xpcc§ upsTYis 7rpo£ tyjv s(F%oCir\v [A0%§Yipuxv xaScopju-ia-jaeval, 
deovloti %vwywvKr1t4 ®ss xa< ^uAArj7r7opoj rr}g £7n Sotlspa, tu 
xpsirlco ponris xou ^sipaycoyicig. Max, Tyr. Dissert. %%. 

QoGeilou ti§ uvyp ayaSof, pj Xnrw<rw avlcjo rpo^on ; Toif 
tu^Xoij « \ei7TQV<ri, toi$ ^ooXotg ov hsiitfi&r Xeityov<riv av§pi 

aya^w ; Epictet. lib. iii. c. 26. p. 5%5. Edit. Upton. 

OTOLV Ti 7Tp0lTTil§ QVIOV, uyabvp zXtTiIo. 

ITpo&xAAs (tuvto), t«7o yiwxrxeiv oti 
To\(/,yi foxoiia, Ken @eo£ <rv\\ay,£oLvei. 

Menand. p. 190. Edit. Clericu 

Aei y,sv ?rav Hat to pixpolulov oylco 7roj£jv «7e yap avSpcoTrivov 
Ti uvsv Tt\g em Ta Seict <rvM<pop<x$ eu 7rpot%ei$. AfltOTl* 

lib. iii. sect. 13. 

No. 7- 
Repentance and Hope, fyc* 

Referamur illuc, unde non decuit prius 
Abire ; vel nunc casta repetatur fides. 
Nam sera nunquam est ad bonos mores via, 
Quern pcenitet peccasse, pene est innocens. 

Senec. Agamem. v. 240. 

Saevi quoque implacabilesque Domini crude- 

litatem suam impediunt, quando pcenitentia 

fugiti^os reduxit, et dedititiis hostibus parcimus, 

Petronii Satyr. 



542 

Movrj yap epoi ye Soxei iotas apapliag 0ju,oAoy=JS/ ts 
u^uplavovia, xcu fyXov sivoa st uvtoo psIuyiyMcxovla. 

Arrian. de Gest. Alex. lib. 7. 

Aoyog— op$oo$ ytyvoilo rjjouv, Trpoctyopzvoov s%i(floi,&§ou %a<ri 
toi$ u<re§s<ri TponcM roov uvloov ei§ mc, evcrz&zi;. Plato de 

Leg. lib. 10. 

TOV A0J7T0V £tOV KOtloL(r1pS<pei SV 7T0KTYI XOLXodaiftOVlOL' SUV 'Yj 

Meltxvotx ctvloo oltco lf\s ru^ys (ruvav7ijor)j, sflct, t^aipzi otulov sx laiv 
xax&v, xat dca^slcci, xcu ^axotpiog xai sv^ui[xoov yiyvelcti. 

Cebes. p. 19. Edit Foulis. 

To yap to\<; a^apl^adi cruvaXysiv ty}V oixsiav ou<r$Yi<rw, 

SUpOUrSoil Tl TOl$ V7TUp^(7i XaXOl$ OLXOC, tyfT8vlo)V (SlCJDV IVOt 

xa^ansp ayva §vpu1u rco Aaipovicp tcjov avSpamov sxokt1o$ 

CVltU.pypp.ZVQC,, TV^Yj TYj$ OOTlOtS XOil TtOLpOL 0£WV Ui^sXsiOiC. 

Porphyr. de Abstin. lib. ii. p. 76. 

Tiara r) ri)s av$pa)7riVY)s tyv^s tsXs&tw, si$ rnjv irpo<; 
Qeov s7TKr1po(pY}V } xcti ryv 7rpo$ avlov <tvvtu%iv wjroxopuyulou. 

Simplic. in Arrian. c. 79. p. 296. Edit Lo?id. 
1670. 

Oi yotp ©sov <Te£ov1s$ eXiriftots xa\a§ 

Philemon, p. 364. Edit ClericL 

T* xuXhurlov r» /3*8 tsXos ; to (iufjt.si<r5<xi th$ ks$. Julian. 

No. 8. 

Prayers and Worship, 8?c. 

Bene ac sapienter Majores instituemnt, ut 
rerum agendaruirij ita dicendi initium a preca- 



543 

tionibus capere ; quod nihil rite, nihilque pro- 
videnter homines, sine Deorum Immortalium 
ope, consilio, honore, auspicarentur. Plin, in 
Panegyrico, cap 1. 

Ne in victimis quidem, licet optimae sint 
auroque praefulgeant, Deorum est honos, sed pia 
ac recta voluntate venerantium. Seneca. 

Cultus autem Deorum est optimus, idemque 
castissimus atque sanctissimus, plenissimusque 
pietatis, ut eos semper pura, integra, incorrupta 
et mente et voce veneremur. Cic. de Nat. Deor. 
lib. ii. 

Compositum jus, fasque animi, sanctosque 
recessus 
Mentis, et incoctum generoso pectus honesto : 
Hfiec cedo, ut admoveam templis et farre litabo. 

Persius, Sat. ii. v. 73. 

0g(» de Sue foot. ts\&s hycaios dov, 
Mij XotfLirpog ouv ran; %\x[jt,v<riv, oo$ t*j Kapha. 

Menander. 

IlsjxvJ/Oi/ i^sv <pw$ $\)ycu$ uvspoov, 

UoSeV S&XoLG-loVf Tl$ pifa XCLXCDV, 

EupeiV y,0X§0QV CiMTTUVkctV. ; 

Eurip. apud Cudworth. 

MaXXov to Aoupoviov Trpo$ to twv Svovloov >j0os, >j vpog to 
tcov Suoj&eveov ttAhjSos jSXeOTei. 

Porphyr. de Abstin. lib. ii. p. 6%« 



544 

Primus Deorum cultus est reddere illis ma- 
jestatem suam, reddere bonitatem. Seneca. 

No. 9. 
Immortality of the Soul. 

O praeclarum diem quum in illud animorum 
concilium ccetumque proficiscar, et quum ex 
hac turba et colluvione discedam ! Cic. de Se- 
nectute. 

Cum de animorum aeternitate disserimus, non 
leve momentum apud nos habet consensus 
hominum, aut inferos timentium, aut eolentium. 
Seneca. 

Nescio quomodo, dum lego, assentior, cum 
posui librum et mecum ipse de immortalitate 
animorum ccepi cogitare, assentio omnis ilia 
elabitur. Cic. Tus. Qucest. lib. i. 

Quod autem corpus animae per se ? quae ma- 
teria ? ubi cogitatio illi ? quomodo visus ? 
audit us? aut qui tangit? qui usus ejus? aut 
quod sine his bonum ? Flirt, lib. 7. 

Neque aliud est quidquam cur incredibilis 
animarum videatur aeternitas, nisi quod ne- 
queunt qualis sit animus vacans corpore intelli- 
gere et cogitatione comprehendere. Cic. Tusc. 
Qucest lib. i. 



545 



E/x-oj [Xsv onro$otvo[Jt,evcp } v[aw fiiooo-OfASVOig* ovrolepoi Se ripoov 
spyovlai eni upsivov npctypot eto^Aov ttclvti, 7rArjv y, rep 0so>. 

Plato, Apolog. SocraL 

Oux so~hv ctvdpi ayaQcp xctxov oudsv, ale gwvh «7s TsAsu7yj- 
<Tcivli' «§e ctpeksflcti V7ro Sswv t« t«7« 7rpotyy,oilix. 

Idem, vol. i. p. 41. Edit. SerranL 

Ethovtos apa. $ava7« stti tov avSpumoVy to jU,ev $vvj7ov aula 
«7ro^v>jo"xe*' to §£ o&uvotlov, o~oov xui a.t>Hx.<p§opQV oiyjlou uniov, 

uveKX(opvi<rotv too Samlop. Idem, Phced. p. 106. 

Permanere animos arbitramur consensu na- 
tionum omnium. Cic. 



No. 10. 

Eternal Punishments and Rewards. 

Sedet aeternumque sedebit, 
Infelix Phlegyas. Virg* 

Fieri permagna accessio potest si aliquid aeter- 
num et infinitum malum impendere nobis opi- 
nemur. Cic. de Fin. lib. i. c. 17. 

0» 8' ctv Sojoxnv Mictions ^X £iV ^ iot Ta i*6yg«&*j roov 
oty.aplri^cilcioV) — t«t«j yj 7rpoo~r]>C8o-a potpot pntlzi si$ tov Tup-' 

1upov, odev 8tto7s ex£uiwo-i. Plat. Phaed. vol. i. p. 113. 

Tau7a Totvuv «5sv s<r7* TtXrfisi uds peysQsi irpos exsiva, at 
TsAeu7i](ray7a sxa7epov Trepijxevei. Idem, de Repub. lib. X. 

Xp>] irCLVTCt. 7T01SIV, W0~7g CLpslv\$ JCOti ^>p0V'f\(7SCO5 SV 7w jS.W 

/xg7ao-%£iV xaAov yap to a9Aov > xa» v] sAttis ^syaKr\. Idem. 
Qo-nsp arv jcoAao"s»j ouawi»s vojat£g/^ e7s xai 01 tcjv ispcow 
N N 



546 

itetiwui efayYilcii, tzKsvIcu ts km pvo-luycjoyoi. CelsUS Upild 

Origen, lib. viii. p. 408. Edit, Spencer. 

Tau7»j£ rr\s hxv\$, a1s <jv ju,ij7ro7s, sis el aKXog utv^s yevopsvoc 
eirevgvflou nepiyeveoSou §swv. Plato deLeg. lib. X. p. 905. 

Certum est in coelo et definitum esse locum ubi 
beati sevo sempiterno fruantur. — Nunc tanto 
praamio proposito, enitar mill to vigilantius. 
Som. Scip. apud Cic. n. 3 et 8. 

YloKKuov yap adixr}iAOilwv ysfxovla tyjv ^v^v ei$ o&h 
cKpixscr%a.i, ttuvtwv s<t^octov xaxooy ecrliv. PlatQ, GorgiaS 9 

vol. i. p. 522. Edit. Serrani. 

TIw$ «x avictpov ouoMHJOV etyotSoov skinda. (rlspeicrSai, xa» 
ty}V uxpolalriv sudai[xoviav UTro§ocXsiv ', Plutarch. 

Ov fisXelou yap o %a.xo$ a^otvalov sivcii ty\v aura ^fit^v. 

ivu pj u7to[jl6ivyi Tiftcopxpevos. Hierocles. 



No. 11. 

The World a State of Trial and Probation. 

Quid mirum, si dure generosos spiritus Deus 
tentat? Nunquam virtutis molle documentum 
est. Verberat nos et lacerat fortuna ? Patiamur, 
non est ssevitia, certamen est, quo ssepius aderi- 
mus, fortiores erimus. Seneca, de Prov. c. iv. 

Hie est ille homo honestus, qui sive toto cor- 
pore tormenta patienda sunt, sive flamma ore 
recipienda est, sive extendere per patibulum 



547 



maims, non quaerit quid patiatur, sed quam bene* 
Idem. 

Et ferrum et ignis ssepe medicinae loco est. 

Seneca, Agamemnon* 
Dura aliquis praecepta vocet mea ; dura fatemur 
Esse : sed ut valeas, multa dolenda feres. 
Saepe bibi succos, quamvis invitus, amaros 
iEger ; et oranti mensa negata mihi. 
Ut corpu^f redimas, ferrum patieris et ignes, 
Arida nee sitiens ora levabis aqua. 
Ut valeas animo, quicquam tolerare negabis ? 
At pretium pars haec corpore majus habet. Ovid* 

lioKKci ysv xat sv exeivoig scrli rpu^soi, «XA« c.cr7ra£o//,svoj 

TY\ ' ZX7TI& TV\$ UyiZlOLf T018T0V Tt <J0l doXElloi), UWG~l§ KOLi 

cruvlsKzid toov 7>j xo*v>] <pu<re< foxgvloov, oiov v\ <ty} vyisux. An* 

toninus, lib. v. c. viii. p. 3J. Edit. Gataker. 

Meyot$ 6 uyctiv e<rn, Qsiov to spyov ts Qss y,spvYi<T0' 
sxewov sitMctXs fioYjQov KUi 7raptxo~TUTYiv, w$ tu$ Aioo-xopoug sv 

xsift-covi oi 7tXsqv1s§. Epictet. lib. ii. c. xviii. p. 281. 
Edit. Upton. 

Nuv scrli 6 aywv, xou tjojj nupso-lt tu OAu//,7na. Enrflivid* 
C.75. 



No. 12. 

On God, his Nature, and Attributes. 

Esse praestantem aliquam seternamque na- 
turam, et earn suspiciendam admirandamque ho- 

N N 2 



54S 

minum generi,pulchritudo mundi ordoque reruns 
coelestium cogit confiteri. Cic. de Divin. lib. ii. 
Deus — omnes in se perfectiones habet. 
Idem, de OraL lib. ii. Parent Dei numini omnia. 
Idem, de Divin. Mens divina, mens pura et sin- 
cera, mens soluta et libera, segregata ab omni 
concretion e mortali. Idem, Tusc. Qucest. lib. i. 

Necesse est ei eadem placere, cui nisi optima 
placere non possunt : nee ob hoc minims liber ac 
potens est, ipse enim est necessitas sua. Senec. 
Nat. Qucest 

Deum esse animum per naturam rerum om- 
nium intentum et commeantem. Pythag. apud 
Cic. de Nat. Beor. lib. i. c. xi. 

Nos Deum nisi sempiternum intelligere qui 
possumus ? Idem. 

Nihil Deo clausum, interest animis nostris, et 
mediis cogitationibus intervenit. Seneca. 

Quocunque te flexeris, ibi ilium videtis oc- 
currentem tibi, nihil ab illo vacat, opus suum 
ipse implet. Idem, de Benefic. lib. 4. 

Nee viget quicquam simile aut secundum, 

HoraL 

Hominum Sator atque Deorum. 

Virgil 

MoiSeiv hi 7rpoo1ov tsIo, oil so-ti Qeoc, tccu npavoei rcav oXoov 
non ovx sli XaSeiv uvlov, « povov Ttoisvlci, aXA' «5e havospsvoii? 

y evbvptinsvov. Epictet. lib. ii. c- xiv* 



549 

%sog a&apj sfiapoog ahxog, aAA' oig oiov ts Sixouolulog* 
JPlatO, Thecet. Ou^sttoIs udafAY} &§otpoog otXXoicoo~iv s^z^iav 
svtsyslcu. Idem, Priced. To xpsnlov. 6 A^fuspyog. 
6 Yloir\li)$ xai Tlalyp t«8s nsavTog. 6 stti noun hog. tvjj tpuosoog 
KIktIyjs. t« iravlog App£>). ttuvIwv ailiov. vsg Ttavlow &ao~iXsug. 
vsg auhxpalwp. Trixvla xocrpw. §ia itavloiv ioov. ts navlog 
xv£epvYJlYi$. 6 n-pailog hog. 6 psyio-log Acafxwv. b psyicrlog hvov. 
6 yjXiov ysvvr\o~ag. 6 yyv, spavov xai Sssg, xai %avla to. sv spavw 
•%au ra sv ads, xai U7ro yf\g amavTa spya^slai. au\o^>ur\g, 6 navloov 
£ao~iXsvg, izspi ov itavla so~1i, s svsxa Travla, xai to ailiov 

ttuvIcov tmv xaxav, &c. Idem, apud Cudworth, p. 406. 

Ylavla s%si t ayaSa 6 $£"0$, xai scrliv auiapxr\g. AviStOt. 
KyoW? uSavaloov, TroXuctiVu^s, itayxpaTsg aisi, 
Zsug, (puasvog ap^ys, vojxs y,s1a navTa xu£spvoov, &€. 

Cleanthes. 

O psyag hog' 6 avooTaTw hog. 6 npwlog hog. 6 aysvvi\log 
hog. oo~a pj %ap rifxiv scrliv, suyo\LS§a tov hov fatiovtu. 

Plutarch, apud Cudworth, p. 443. 

Zsug Trpoolog ysvslo, Zsug ixrloflog, apyjxspauvog- 
Zsug xs$aXv\, Zsug ^s<TO~a. Aiog 8' ex iruvlcx. Tsluxlar 
"Zsug apo~t\v ysvslo, Zsug a\t&polog stcXeIo vup<Qv\. 
Zsvg %u§(j,yiv yaiyg ts xou, spavs ao~lsposvlog' 
Zsvg 7TV01Y} 7ruvlctiv Zsug oLXOLpctls itvpog opfw 
Zev? novls pi^a' Zsug f\Xiog y$s ctsAvjvij* 
Zsvg GaonXsug' Zsug ag^og anavloov ap^iysvs^Xog* 
Ev xpalog, sig Aaifxoov ysvslo, \Lsyag apyog anavTouv, 

Aristot. de Mundo, cap. vii. p. 615. Edit. 
Du Val. et ap. Cudworth, p. 301. 

N N 3 



550 

Tov ovlot Kavlaiv Kvptov ysvixoolulov, 
AyuScov toisIwv evpelYjV xou xlio-lopa. 

Menander, p. 48. Edit. Clerici. 

Oj ts yap akkoi QeoiJ >j/-wv to. ayaSa £*Sovt8£, «5ev raloav 
ei$ T&[x<pave§ lovles l&oa<riu s xai 6 tov o\ov xocrpov (rvvlarlatv 
rs xai crvvs^ctiV, sv co 7roivTci kolKol xoli ayaSot. z<fli, Jtai usi 
[x,ev %poo[jievoi; arp&y\ rs, xai vyia, xai ayypulov irocpe^MV, 
Sarlov de voYifj,a1o$ ava\Lap\r\T<x><; wntipelsvla, sloe, ra peyKrla /xsv 

TTpOLTloOV OpUTUiy TO^S §S 01X0V0[J,CJ0V UOpu1o$ Y\[MV S0~liV. XeflOpk. 

Memorabil lib. iv. c. iii. s. 6. 

No, 13. 

Miscellaneous Passages of Pagan Authors, col- 
lated "with others in the New Testament. 

1. Matt. v. 28. 
Nam scelus intra se taciturn qui cogitat ullum 
Facti crimen habet. Jwo. Sat. xiii. v. 210. 

Qu33, quia non liceat, non facit, ilia facit : 
Ut jam servaris bene corpus, adultera mens est, 
Omnibus occlusis, intus adulter erit. Ovid. 

Incesta est etiam sine stupro, quge cupit 
stuprum. Seneca. Fecit quisque quantum vo- 
luit. Idem. 

<2. Mark, xii. 33. 

Turn illud effici, quod quibusdam incredibile 
videtur, sit autem necessarium, ut nihilo sese 
plus quam alterum diligat. Cic. de Leg. Jib. i. 



551 



3. Rom. viii. 28. 

Nee enim viro bono mali quicquam eve- 
nire potest, nee vivo, nee mortuo, nee unquam 
ejus res a Diis Immortalibus negligentur. Cic. 
Tusc. Qucest. lib. i. c. 81. 

4. Luke, xxii. 26. 

Si vis ad summum progredi, ab infimo ordire. 
Varro. 

5. Heb. x. 22. 

Vultisne Deum cogitare magnum et placidum 
et majestate leni verendum, amicum, et semper 
in proximo ? Non immolationibus et sanguine 
multo colendum, sed mente pura, honestoque 
proposito. Non templa illi, congestis in alti- 
tudinem saxis extruenda sunt. In suo cuique 
consecrandum est pectore. Seneca apud Lac- 
tant. 

6. Philemon, 16. 

Servi sunt ? imo homines. Servi sunt ? imo 
contubernales. Servi sunt ? imo humiles amici. 
Servi sunt ? imo conservi ; si cogitaveris tantun- 
dem in utrosque licere fortune. Senec. EpisU 47. 

7. John, ix. 31. 

Tu potiusDeos comprecare, nam tibi certe scio 
Quo vir melius multo es, quam ego, obtempe- 
raturos magis. 

Ter. Adelph. act. iv. seen. 6. 

N N 4 



552 

8- Matt. v. 4, and 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
Optimos esse nos dum infirmi sumus. Plin. 

9. Matt. v. 7- 
Bona comparat prassidia misericordia. Terent. 

10. Matt vii. 3. 
- gequum est 



Peccatis veniam poscentem reddere rursum. 

Hor. 
11. Matt. xxvi. 41, and Rom. vii. 15. 

aliudque Cupido, 

Mens aliud suadet. Video meliora proboque, 
Deteriora sequor. Ovid, Metam. lib. vii. v. 20. 

12. 1 Thess. v. 3. 

Ah miser ! si quis primo perjuria celat, 

Sera tamen tacitis poena venit pedibus. Tibul. 

13. Acts, xvii. 27. 

Miraris hominem ad Deos ire ? Deus ad homi- 
nem venit, imo (quod propius est) in homines 
venit. Senec. Epist. 73. 

14. 1 John, iii. 21 . 

_ _ Hie murus aheneus esto, 



Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa. Hor* 



553 

15. Rom. xii. 21. 
Vincit malos pertinax bonitas, 

Senec. de Benefic. lib. 7. c. 31. 

16. Rom. xii. 20. 

Bono vinci satius est, quam malo more in- 
juriarn vincere. Sal. 

17. Rom. xii. 5, and 1 Cor. xii. 15. 
Quid si nocere velint manus pedibus? mani- 
bus oculi ? ut omnia inter se membra consen- 
tiunt, quia singula servari, totius interest : ita 
homines singulis parcent, quia ad coetum geniti 
sumus. Senec. de Ira. lib. ii. c. 31. 

18. Matt. v. 11. 
Ei rei do operam, ut mihi falso male dicatur. 
Cato apud Charts. 

19. Epbes. iv. 26. 
Quo quis enim major, magis est placabilis iraa ; 
Et faciles motus mens generosa capit. Ovid. 
Candida pax homines, trux decet ira feras. 

Idem. 
20. John, iv. 24, and Luke, vi. 46. 
O curvag in terras animae, et coelestium inanes ! 
Quid juvat hoc, templis nostros immittere mores, 
Et bona Dis ex Mc scelerata ducere pulpa ? 

/ Pers. Sat, ii. v. 6l. 



554 

21. Luke, vi. 29. 

Ou1o£ xpctlitrhc; sot ctVYjp, to ropy i ex., 

0$ lig cthixsicrScii vXeiaT eiricrlului (SpOTcov. Menander. 

22. Matt. v. 34. 

M>j ofMvva.1 §e&$' curxew ytap avlov Sstv ct^iOTricrlov 7rups^siV. 

Pythagoras. 

Opxov Se cpsvys xch Dixanog Of/,vvrj§. MeuaYld. 

23. 1 Tim. vi. 8. 

Ecr$>)7o£ yap oiptu xui cnc£7nj£ xoa Tpotpys §£0[xeQa. 

Aristides. 

24. Luke, vi. 31. 

A T:oLiTj(pvlss vcp' shpoov opyi^ecrSs, toluIol toil; aKko^ jw.15 

iroisile. Isoc. Nicocles, vol. i. p. 116. Edit. Battle. 

25. 1 Thess. v. 22. 

Mv] j^ovov a.7rt:%so-$e toqv ot[j,(xplYi[j,txlcov, olKKol xoa tcov £7tj7>j- 
§svfjt,czlu)v tcov roislcov, sv ois Mvuyxuiov ecrliv rj7ro^iav yiveoSui. 

Idem, p. 112. 

26. 1 Peter, ii. 17. 

Tov v j&£V &sov <po&8' Ts$ 5s yovsis ti^oc Ts; §s cpiXd $ 

oLivyyv*' To«j &? vojxoij w«^8. Tatem ac? Demonic. 
p. 25. 

27- Ephes. v. 3, and iv. 29. 

A 7ro*siv oncry^pov, ruulec vo^i^e /xvjSs Aeyew s<va< xaKov. 

Idem, p. 24. 

28. Matt. vi. 16. 

E0igs (rsaulov £<v#j ju,*j crxvQpcoTrov, aKhct. crvvvsv. Idem, 

p. 24. 



555 

29. Matt. vii. 13. 

Q* ttAejovsj xolxoi. Bias. 

Rari quippe boni. J wo. 

Pauci — quos aequus amavit Jupiter. Virg. 

Bonus ille, alter Phoenix. Senec, 

30. 1 Cor. iii. 18. 
Epictet. Frag. p. 741. Edit. Upton. 

31. Mark, x. 23. 

O TtXalot;, ou tcjov ctyaSoov v\ nokvlsXsia., tcov xaxoov. Idem, 

p. 748. 

Non est summa felicitatis nostrae in carne po- 
nenda. Senec. Epist. 74. 

32. Matt. vii. 1, 2. 

M>j npolspov slepco lixuvlYipicp foxoLd^, Trpiv avlog irupa Tr t 

foxy xpifys. Idem, p. 7^2. 

S3. 1 Pet. iii. 9. 

%vyyM[AYi TijAoopicts upewoov to y,ev yap ^sps <pv<reao$ 

~<r1i, to h ^Yipi^ss. Idem, p. 7^4. 
34. Matt. xv. 19. 

A /mj hi KOieiVy [XYjhs wnovos noisiv. Idem,, p. 77^* 
AvY}p foxcaos etrlw sy^ 6 pj ctdixwv, 
A\\ y Q<r1i$ ufoxsiv hvvapevos ^ fivXeixit. Philemon, 



556 

35. Coloss. iv. 6. 

AvavesoSco 6 Trspi 0e« Xoyog Ka§ ypepav, paXXov Yj T« 
villa. Idem, p. 779. ^vve^eo-lepov voei rov Qsov, y 

avanvsi. Idem, p. 780. 

36. Luke, vi. 46. 

To /x,S|U,vvjcr$ai Qecov, xai oti nep e xokaxevearSai alot 
§e\u<nv aKXa egopoitio-Soii eavloig. AntOUin. lib. X. S. 9- 

37. John, viii. 34. 

Ovdeig afxaplavoov e\ev§epo$ s<rliv. Epictet. lib. ii. C. i. 

38. Matt. vi. 6. 

Orav xXeicrYjle rag Qvpag xai <rxolo$ evfiov ttoivjcttjt^ \^-^- 
vy)<t§e ju^oWole Keyeiv oil [xovoi eerie' « yag earls, «XX' 0eo^ 

ev§ov ecr7i. Epictet. lib. i. c. 14. 

39. Rom. viii. 26. 

Zsu fiao"i\sv } ret /isv ecr^Aa x«j ev^o^evoig xai aveuxloig 
AjW-jw-i &»&»• ra $e Ssiva xa» eu^o^evoig anaKe^eiv. 

Poeta apud Plat. 
40. Matt. vii. 13, 14. 

Eupsjat jUrSV yap arpaitoi fiioov oKiyai he hi 3 ag daipovec 

avdganrtig aya<nv. Plutarch, de Socrat. Daemon. 
41. Matt. xii. 34. 

■ Avftpog yapaxTf\p SJC ^oy« yvoopi£elai. 



Menander. 



551 

Oiog 6 Tpowos, Toislog xou 6 Aoyoc. AriSttdeS, 

42, Matt. xxii.-SO. 

Ou yup crilov sda<r\ « -xivsv' ouSona. oivov 
Tsvsk awipoveg s<cn xui uSoivaloi xaXsovlca. HoiYl* 

Tloog av siev oCihoi faopevoi TpoQrjg ; Aristot. MetaphyS* 

43-. Luke, xi. % and Matt. vi. 9. 

0eo£ — 6 kolvIcjqv ds<T7rolrjg 
Ou T8V0,aa tpo&spov, stf av wq\lol<jcu\l eyoo. MenandeVo 

44. Acts, xxiv. 15. 

Ka* yap xa& aSujv %vo rpi£&g vop£ojxev, 
M<av dixcuow, % axepav ct<rsGa)v ofov. DipJlttuS. 

4<5. Rom. xi. 33. 

AXX' ov yocg av to. 0e»a xpv7r1ov1og 0e» 
Ma^oij av, 8^ ei iravT e7rs£eA$oj£ o-hottcov- SopJlOC, 

46. John, xii. 26. 

Tjjtxrja-ejf rov Osov ap<cr7a, eav ra @e«; ttjv diavoictv op3i- 
uxrYig. O yap aya7ra tjj, xat jw,<jw,e<rat ocrov au7a; ojov ts. 

Hierocles.. 

47. John, ix. 31. 

Eup£>js foxouug oux av>jxoO£ @eoj. GrCBC. PrOV. 

48. Luke, xii. 15. 
Menander, p. 268. edft. Clericl. 



558 
49. Matt. xvi. 26. 

X2v roig Qeoig uv§pco7ro$ suasion tv%siv, 
Tyj$ a§ava<rict$ xpsirlov udsv suasion. PoSldlppUS. ■ 

50. 1 Cor. vii. 21. and Luke vi. 20. 

A«Ao£ E7rutlif[lo$ ysvo^v xui doi^cdi 7rv)po£, 

Kai ttsv*>jv ipoj, x«* <p»Ao^ olSumIqis. Epitaph, Epictet. 

51. i Cor. ix. 27. 
Epictet. lib. i. c. 25. 

52. Ephes. v. 18. 

EjT ov% ci7ruvloov scrli ro psQveiv xotxov 
Msyiclov avSpciwroKri x/xi £\a£epciolci1ov ; Alexis. 

53. Ephes. vi. 1 — 3. 

Etan^s ti/mov t»? yovei$ ngxgeiv xot\cu$. GtCSC. PrOV, 
lxavca$ j3ja><rei£ yvjpo§o<ntcov 7«£ yoveig. Idem. 

54. 1 Tim. it. 9. 

Tvvctixi xo<rjxoj rpOTTog, vj ou p^pucna. GrCBC. PrOV. 

Probitas est carbunculus. Laberius. 
55. 1 Cor. xv. 10. 

Au7o£ 7roAXa afj,up1oivsi$, xcti uKKos tqibIos sr xoli si rivcov 
h u[^uplYi(^a1oov curs^Y), olKKcjl t>jv ye sj*iv noirfliXYiv sS el h a 
»ai dia §£iX<av ; >j fo%oxo7nuv, >j TOi»7o Tt xaxov oms^y ru)V 

o/xoicov aj*ap7))j*«7cov. Antonin. lib. xi. c. 18. 

10 



559 " 
56. Heb.xii. 11. 

ApttVTQ lUTpsveoScti >jSu e<fli 9 xou x<xipov<riv oi ■ kUTpeuop,svoi° 3 
sjc epoiys foxsi. AAX' co<peA»//,ov ye. Plato, GorgldS. 

57. Ephes. iv. 25. 

As* xpotli(r1ov scrli t oi\yi§yi Aeyeiv 
Ev navli xuipoo' rovT syoo Trotpeyyuca 
Ej£ u(r<pa\sioiV too fiiw ttXsktIov [xepog, 

Menand. p. 182. 

58. 2 Peter, iii. 12. 
Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus 
Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia coeli 
Ardeat. Ovid. Metam. lib. i. v. 256. 

59. 1 Peter, iii. 9. 

TbTsg dei TYipsvTUy KUi fjiYj §opv£&(j,svov } juojSs roig dva-^e- 
pouvsGiv avlidvcr^sponvovlci, 7repa,ivsiv o$op to %poKei^svov. 

Antoiiin. lib. vi. c. 26. 

60. Heb. xiii. 16. 

Aj$8 0e«£, crco^e txv^pco7T85' @p<zx v $ ° ^ ,0 £* 6, £ xapTTOg Tyg 
z%iyem &yj$, foctQecris o<j\ol k«» npa%ei$ xoivoovixoti. AntOTlin, 

lib. vi. c. 30. 

61. Matt. v. 45. 

0< 0eoi aSavaloi ov1s$ « dva^spciivsa-iv, o?» ev to&sIcq aioovt 
Sefjce* au7«£ Travlws asi roislwv ovloov xoti too-hIwv (pavXcuv 

uvzyzv^cu. Antonin. lib. vii. c. 70. 

Ecce sceleratis sol oritur, et piratis patent 
maria. Senec. de Ira, lib. 4. 



560 



62. 1 John, v. 14. 

Ti$ h <roi emeVy o7i ov%i xou eig ra. e<p' vtfuy ot Ssoi 
<7VhXafx€uv&(riv ; up%ui yxv nspi rulwv su^ea-Sai, xou otysi. 

Antonin. lib. ix. c. 40. 

63. Rom. ix. 20. 

Ogct$ yotp x.ou a.v1o$, oil t«7o irotpaX^cov hxuioXoy^ npoc 

rov Gzov. Antonin. lib. xii. v. 5. 

64. 1 Cor. iv. 7- 

Ou7oj Ta xpYifxuT jSia xsxlrivltxi fSpolot. 
Tot rcav Qecjov 8* £%ov?ej £7riy,s\upe§oi* 
Orctv Ss xp^wcr', avr ctQoupsvlau 7rctkiv. 

Eurip. Phceniss* 
65. Ephes. vi. 18. 

Orav (Toi 7rpocr7r*7r7i7 ri tow roislwv Soy/x«7cov, i3j £7n t«£ 
owroSjOTrOjtjwrrjcrsjf, i$j ett* -&s«;v ot7rolp07rotioov tspot jxs7rjf. JPlcttO* 

de Leg. lib. ix. vol. ii. p. 854. JEcSA Servant. 
66. Col. iii. 23. 

rie<pa<r$a< o"yv tojj .&'£<»£ app^scSaj 7rav7oj epy»« E?n 
7racr>j opjarj xai <r(ux.pe xai psyotks vrpotyftotlos, 0eov otei hst 

xxKeiv. Xenoph. (Econom. 

67. Philip, ii. 3. 
Nihil opinionis causa, omnia conscientiae facta. 
Senec. Nihil ad ostentationem, omnia ad con- 
scientiam refert. Plin. Epist. lib. i. 22. 



561 

68. Matt. v. 11. 
iEquissimo animo ad honestum consilium per 
mediara infamiam ten dam. Nemo mi hi videtur 
pluris aestimare virtutem, nemo illi magis esse 
devotus, quam' qui boni viri famam perdidit, 
ne conscientiam perderet. Senec. Epist. 81. 

69. John, xvii. 3. 

C H yvcQ(rig todv Qsm apslvi rs strli xai <ro<pia. xai ev$aifx,Qvia 

reXsioi. lamblicus. 

70. Ephes. v. 1. and John, xiii. 17. 

Tots pev yap Qsoig nag o Giog [xaxagios' tqic, fiavSpwirois, 
sp' dcrov opoiwpa ri tjjj roiaulr\s svepysias ^mapyzi. 

Aristot. Ethic. Nicom. lib. x. c. 8. 

71. Rom. vii. 24. 
Imo vero ii vivunt qui ex corporum vinculis, 
tanquam e carcere, evolaverunt. Vestra vero 
quae dicitur vita, mors est. Cic. in Som. Scip. 

72. Matt. x. 28. 

Ei ruvTY\ TOig (deoig fiXov, ravr^ yive<r§ui. Eju,£ fa Avvlog 
xai MsKiios onroxlsiwi pev tiuvavlai, p\a$rai 8s «. Ejpfct. 

Enchirid. c. 79. 

73. Ephes. iv. 4—6. 

Koo-ftos ts yap et$ 8ia awavlcov, xai Ssog sis 8/a 7ravlcov s 
xai «<na (Met, kou vopos sis, Aoyoj xoivos navlctiv tcov wepcov 

o o 



562 



fattiV, xou aAvjSsia jiua* siys xou ts\siqty}$ \hiOL twv opoysvoov, 
Horn T8 uvls Xoyu [*,ele%ovlu>v facav. 

Antoninus, lib. vii. sect. 9. 
74. 2 Cor. iii. 18. and Jude, 10. 

Ewsi sv xaT upely)V fiiog tyj$ Seioig oy,oicoQ-£ca$ avl s%o psvog 
too ovli §eK>g e<rhv, o fa sv xtxxia %vipw&Y\s xoti aSeoj* §>jAov 
cog >) psv ts (nrslous >]Sovy] tvjv Sstav sv<ppo<ruvYiv (upsflou vcu 
xui @ea> (rvve7ropsvYi, f\ fa ts QavXs yfavYi Xsyopevrj npoc, t>jv 

Sypicofy xou sulttXyixIov opoiulcii xivyio-iv. Hierocles. 

75. John iv. 23. 

"Nlovog iepsv$ o (rotpo;, povo$ §eo<pi\r)s, povog si^cog sv%ao-§ou. 
Nlovo$ yap oifa ti\ulv (tqv Qeov) — — — npoYiy spews ispeiov 
solvIov ftpoorayvov, xui uyukpct. Ssiov tsxIuivcov tvjv savls ^/v^yjv, 
xaa vaov ei; V7rolo^v ts Qeis <poolo$ tov souuls 7rctpct<r>t£vuty v 

vsv. Hierocles. 

76. Heb. xii. 22. 

Ru\\o$ fa TOTS y\v tisiv Aaprpov, OTS CTVV £V$Ctl[J.OVl %opw 
pctxapioLV o\|/tv ts %a\ Ssoiv snopsvot fjt,sla, //,ev Aiog Yjfxeig, aXAo* 
fa fj,sT aXX« Gscov, siSov ts xai elsXsvlo tsXslcav r\v Sefug 

xsysiv pctKctpMToLTw. Plato in Phcedro. p. 250. 
vol. iii. Edit. Serrani. 

77. 2 Peter iii. 10. 

E(r7a< yctp s<rlui xewog uiwvoov yjpovoc,, 
Otccv Trupog yepovlei ^o-ouugov o~xoutyi 
Xpuo-cairog cu0>j^ &C. 

Sophoc.apud Justin. Martyr, p. 82. Edit.Sylburg* 



563 



Xpovog S* «v jw-sT spava yeyovsv ivcc tx^ot ysw^svlss u[/,a 
xou Xu§w<rw, uv vole Aucnj ti$ ouuloov ysvrflw. PlatOfl. 

Timceus, p. 38. vol. iii. 

78. Heb. iv. 12. and 13. 
Itaque talis (L e. bonus) vir non modo facere, 
sed ne cogitare quidem quicquam audebit, quod 
non audeat praedicare. Purgemus igitur con- 
scientiam, quae oculis Dei pervia est, et, (ut ait 
idem,) semper ita vivamus, ut rationem redden- 
dam nobis arbitremur $ putemusque nos mo- 
mentis omnibus, non in aliquo orbis terrae theatro 
ab hominibus, sed desuper spectari ab eo, qui 
et judex et testis idem futurus est ; cui rationem 
vitae reposcenti, actus suos inficiari non licebit. 
Cic. apud Lactant lib. 6. 

79. James, i. 17. 

Apely — «7s <pwret 9 sis I&olxIqv, ukka. Sstot poipa %upa~ 

yiyvo^evrj. Platonis Meno, p. 99. vol. ii, Edit 
Serrani. 

80. Matt. v. 34. 

Opxov ncLpoul^fraii, st psv oiov re, ei$ cmtolv & fa pj, ex lew 

mvlw. Epict Enchirid. c. 44. 

81. Matt. xxv. 46. 

Ejj rsXog yap of pev *<r$\oi Tvy^avea-iv u%iwv, 
0^ xctxoi r 8*, axnrep wefyvxeur, uttqT evTrpa^stuv ctv. 

Eurip. Ion. v. 162L 

oo2 



564 

82. James, i. 17. 



1 " ' " ' VOfXOl 'npoxsivrui 

Tt|/»7T0§££ y BpCLVlUV ll aiSspCl 

Tlalyp (J.OVOS, «§£ viv Svala 
<f>v<ri§ avspoov erixlev atie 

MeV TTols \ct5a. XCcla.XOlfACt<TSi. 

Sophoc. (Edip. Tyr. v. 878, 

83. Ephes. iv. 18. 

Heu primas scelerum causae mortalibus aegris, 
Naturam nescire Deum ! Sil. Ital lib. iv. v. 795. 



84. Luke xii. 6. 

Asyslai h xai elepajf xovfiog Y) roov oXonv Ta£j£ ts xai ha~ 
xo<T(iYi<ri$, wtto 058 ts xai ha Qsov <pv\aTloy,evYi. Avistot* 

de Mundo, c. 2. 

85. Matt. xv. 8. 

T«£ fLsv yap ahxug, ficopov ov% i^av e%p»jv, 
AAA* e%e\cu)vsiv «5s yap tycwsiv xaXov 
®ecav KOVYjpav X Si P u y TOl(n $ evfoxoi$ 
lsga xa§i%siv 9 oalig vfiixeiT, ty/nfl* 
Kai [mi 'm t avlo t«7 iov? s^eiv ktov, 
Tov t zaQkov ov1u, tov ts fM) 9 Secov iraqa. 

Eurip. Ion. v. 1315, 



565 
86. Matt. vii. 3. 

KnoLv\e$ scrftsv si$ to vuSstsiv <ro<poi' 
Avfoi §' otoiv <r<pa\oo[j,£V, a yivcti<rxoiA,ev. 

Eurlp. Frag. p. 507. Edit. Barnes. 

87. 1 John, iii. 15. 
Latro est, etiam antequam manus inquinet : 
quia ad occidendum jam armatus est, et habet 
spoliandi atque interficiendi voluntatem. 

Senec. de Benefic. lib. v. c. 14. 

88. Rom. xii. %. 

Intelligo, Lucili, non emendari me tantum, 
sed transfigurari, &c. Idem, Epist. 6. 

89. 1 Cor. x. 31. 

Sic vive cum hominibus, tanquam Deus vi- 
deat, sic loquere cum Deo, tanquam homines 
audiant. Idem, Epist. 10. 

90. James, v. 16. 

Quare vitia sua nemo confitetur ? quia etiam 
nunc in illis est. Somnium narrare vigilantis 
est ; vitia sua confiteri sanitatis indicium est. 

Idem, Epist. 53. 

91. Rom. iii. c 23. 
Peccavimus omnes : alii gravia, alii leviora, alii 

ex destinato, alii forte impulsi, aut aliend nequitid 

ablati ; alii in bonis consiliis parum fortiter ste- 

o o 3 



566 

timus, et innocentiam irvoiti ac renitentes per* 
didimus. Nee delinquimus tantum, sed usque ad 
extremum cevi delinquemus. 

Idem, de Clement lib. i. c. 6. 

The only reflection which I would offer on 
the foregoing passages is this, that we should 
be extremely cautious of claiming for any parti- 
cular moral precept of Christianity, a perfect 
and entire originality. This remark, indeed, 
will serve to rectify and limit our own ob- 
servations on this subject. In our Chapter on 
the Morality of the Gospel, we have stated, in 
common with many other writers, that one of 
its distinguishing features arose from its placing 
the restraint upon the motive rather than upon 
the external act But we have here adduced 
many passages from the ancient writers, in which 
the same moral criterion is enforced.* So also, 
it was mentioned that the ancients in general 
passed over the duties which are technically 
styled of imperfect obligation. Yet Seneca re- 
probates that virtue which did not extend " extra 
publicas tabulas. Angusta est innocentia ad 
legem bonum esse." De Ira, lib. ii. c. 27. 

The general conclusion to be drawn is this : 
that though the particular precepts of Christian 

* Faciiiiis est initia affectuum prohibere, quam impetum 
regere. Senec, 



567 

morality are to be found scattered in the best 
writers of antiquity j yet that the system itself 
did not exist till it was published by Christ and 
his apostles, and that this agreement between 
reason and Revelation is to be viewed as a 
powerful exemplification of the connection be- 
tween Natural and Revealed Theology, but as 
in no degree tending to diminish the necessity 
or importance of the Christian Revelation. 

The following sublime prayer of Simplicius 
may serve as a specimen of the adorations of 
the more serious and philosophic Pagans : 

IxsTsuw ts, Ae<r7ro1tx, o 7ra7rjp xau Yiyspoov ts sv rjjaiv Xoys, 
V7ro}j(,vri<r§YiMi fJisv Yipug rr\c, suvlcov svysveioig rjg yjf/codrjjtjtsv 
napa, <rs } <rv[ji,7rp<x%cti 5e 00$ otulomvfiTOig r^iv npog ts xaSapcnv 

Tf\V CL7T0 TS <TCJOfJ,Oilog XCLl TCtiV 0(.\oyWV 7Ta$COV, XOLl 7Tp0g TO 

wtzpzyzw xui otpX £iV oluIcov, xui cog opyavoig xs^p»]<r-&«i xalcx. 
tov irpooyTtovloi TpoTrov xui Trpo; SiopQwo-iv cx.xpi$r\ ts sv vjjaiv 
Xoys, xui evcticiv avis irpog lot ovloog ovla, ditx ts Tt\g aX^siag 

<P<J)1o$* TiOii TO TpiloV, TOV (TOi\i\p0t IKslsVCO, U^sXsiV TSksOOg TYjV 

ccyKvv tcov i\jv%ixoov YifLuiv ojXjxaTouv, ( Otppa. yivoocrxopsv sv 

(jLOLTCl TOV OfLYjpQVJ V) (/,5V QsOV, Yj S* XOU KvdpOl. 

In the selection of the above passages, it has not 
been thought necessary to make any distinction 
between those writers who lived before and 
those who were subsequent to the Christian era, 
because it did not appear that any material 
o o 4 



568 

difference could hence arise as to the purpose for 
which their opinions were cited. Since it is 
plain that neither Seneca nor Epictetus, much 
less that Porphyry or Julian, could have been led 
to adopt any moral sentiment out of deference to 
the sentiments of Christianity ; it is evident 
that their agreement with it must have been 
forced upon them by its intimate connection 
with the suggestions of reason. Habes confi- 
tentem reum. In this respect, the following 
acknowledgements of Julian are too valuable 
to be omitted. He is addressing the chief priest 
of Galatia, and urging him to support the cause 
of expiring paganism : — 

HoLpouve<rov ispscn prfe Seal pep 7ra,ptx£u\\eiVy prfe sv Kamt\- 
Xeioo ttivbiv, y ts^vyi? 1wo$ xcit spytxaius aia-^potg xoti s7rovsi- 
halas 7rpoi(r1oi<r§ai. ^svo^o^sia. xtxQ' sx.u(t1yiv nokw y.u\oL<f\'t[<rw 
•xvxm, w a7roXccucrcocriv 01 %evoi Ty$ nap yj[aom (piXavSpcoiriois, 
« roov v\i*,elspcov povov, olKKol kui aAAwv ocflis av Sevj^ xpijfioi- 
tcjqv.' -Aivxpoov yap 01 roov [tsv Isdauov ulsig psTouTer 

Tps$a<ri 8e 01 §u<r<Te£ei$ TaXikuioi 7rpo$ ts$ ecwlcov, %ai Isg y\ps- 
1ep8$' 01 h Y)fAclspoi tyis 7rap y ijjtteov e7nxovpia.$ svfasig Qctivovrotr 
§i$oio~xe 8e xai <rvvei<r<psp5W 1&g EAAr]VJ(r7as ei$ l<x.$ 1oiouu1u$ 

\siTnpyiK$. Juliani Opera, p. 3%5. Paris, 1583. 

" Julian beheld with envy the wise and humane 
regulations of the church ; and he very frankly 
confesses his intention to deprive the Christians 



569 

of the applause, as well as advantage, which 
they had acquired by the exclusive practice of 
charity and beneficence. — But if these ima- 
ginary plans of reformation had been realised, 
the forced and imperfect copy would have been 
less beneficial to Paganism, than honourable to 
Christianity." Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. iv. 
ch. 23. 



A LIST 

OF THE 

PRINCIPAL AUTHORS 

WHICH ARE 

DEFERRED TO IN THE NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Atterbury's (Bishop) Sermons, 4 vols. 1726 

Bacon's (Lord) Novum Organon, by Shaw, 2 vols. 1802 

— de Augmentis Scientiarum, by 

Shaw, 2 vols. - - - 1803 

Balguy (Thomas) on Divine Benevolence - 1803 

Balguy's (John) Moral Tracts - - 1734 

Bates's (Ely) Rural Philosophy - 1804 

Barrow's (Isaac) Works, 3 vols. - 1722 

Baxter's (Richard) Reasons for Christianity 1667 

Saint's Everlasting Rest - 1688 

Beattie's (James) Evidences of Christianity, 2 vols. 1786 

Essay on Truth - 1805 

Benson's (George) Reasonableness of the Chris- 
tian Religion - 1743 
Berkeley's (Bishop) Alciphron, or Minute Philo- 
sopher - 1732 
Blair's (Hugh) Sermons, 2 vols. Cupar. - 1815 
Bonnet's (Charles) Philosophical Enquiries con- 
cerning Christianity, by Boissier - 1787 



572 

Bowdler's (John) Select Pieces, 2 vols. - 1817 
Brown's (Bishop) Divine Analogy - - 1738 
Procedure, Limits, and Extent 

of the Understanding - - 1729 

Brown's (Simon) Defence of Christianity against 

Tindal - - 1732 

Brown's (John) Essays on the Characteristics 1752 

Burgh's (James) Dignity of Human Nature 1754 

Butler's (Bishop) Works, 2 vols. - - 1804 

Campbell's (Archibald) Necessity of Revelation 1739 

Campbell's (George) Dissertation on Miracles - 1796 

Philosophy of Rhetoric, 2 

vols/ - - - 1801 

Chalmers's (Thomas) Discourses on Christian 

Revelation in connection with Astronomy - 1817 

_____ Evidences of the Christian 

Revelation - - - - 1817 

Chandler's (Samuel) Sermons, 4 vols. - 1769 

_. (Bishop) Vindication of the Christian 

Religion - - - 1725 
Clarke's (Samuel) Evidence of Natural and Re- 
vealed Religion - - 1725 

Sermons, 11 vols. - 1749 

Clarke's (John) Enquiry into the Origin of Evil, 

2 vols. - - - 1720 

Conybeare's (John ) Defence of Revealed Religion 1732 

Sermons, 2 vols. - 1757 

Cudworth's (Ralph) Intellectual System,by Birch, 

2 vols. - - 1743 

Immutable Morality - 1731 

Doddridge's (Philip) Lectures, by Kippis, 2 vols. 1799 



573 



Duchal's (James) Presumptive Arguments for 

the Truth of the Christian Religion - - 1753 

Ellis's (John) Knowledge of Divine Things from 

Revelation - - - 1771 

Enfield's (William) History of Philosophy, 2 vols. 1791 

Farmer's (Hugh) Dissertation on Miracles - 1771 

Fawcett's (James) Sermons - - 1794 
Felton's (Henry) Vindication of the Christian 

Faith at Lady Moyer's Lecture - - 1732 
Foster (James) on the Christian Religion - 1731 
■ Discourses on Natural Religion, 

2 vols - - - 1754 

Fuller (Andrew) on Deism - - 1800 

Gale's (Theophilus) Court of the Gentiles, 4 vols. 1669 
Gibbon's (Edward) Decline and Fall of the Roman 

Empire, 12 vols. - - - - 1792 
Gibson's (Bishop) Three Pastoral Letters - 1735 
Gray's (Robert) Connection of Sacred and Pro- 
fane Literature - 1816 
Grove's (Henry) System of Moral Philosophy, 

2 vols. - - 1749 

Grotius (Hugo) de Veritate Christiani Religionis 1729 

— de Satisfactione Christi - 1617 

de Jure Belli et Pacis - 1720 

Gurdon's (Brampton) Sermons at Boyle's Lec- 
tures - - - 1728 

HakewilPs (George) Apology for the Power and 

Providence of God - - 1635 

Hale's ( Sir M. ) Primitive Origination of Mankind 1677 

12 



574 



Haller's (Baron) Letters on the Christian Reli- 
gion - 1793 
Hartley's (David) Observations on Man, 3 vols. 1801 
Herbert's (Lord) Ancient Religion of the Gen- 
tiles - - - J 705 
Horsley's (Bishop) Sermons, 3 vols. - 1812 
Hume's (David) Essays, 2 vols. - 1804 
Hurd's (Bishop) Introduction to the Prophecies 1788 
, Sermons, 3 vols. - 1785 

Ireland's (John) Paganism and Christianity com- 
pared - - - 1809 

Jenkin (Robert) on the Reasonableness of the 

Christian Religion, 2 vols. - - 1721 

Jortin's (John) Discourses on the Christian Reli- 
gion - - - - - 1768 

■ Sermons, 7 vols. - 1787 

King's (Archbishop) Origin of Evil, with Notes 

by Law - - - 1739 

Law (Bishop) on the Theory of Religion - 1745 

Leland's (John) Answer to Morgan's Moral Phi- 
losopher * - - 1739 

_ Answer to Tindal's Christianity 

as old as the Creation, 2 vols. - - 1748 

View of Deistical Writers, 2 



vols. - - - 1797 

Advantage and Necessity of Re- 



velation, 2 vols. - - 1768 

Leng's (Bishop) Sermons at Boyle's Lectures - 1719 

Leslie's (Charles) Short Method with the Deists 1745 

Locke (John) pn Human Understanding, 2 vols. 1 796 



515 



Magee's (William) Dissertations on Atonement, 

2 vols. - - 1812 

Maclaine's (Archibald) Answer to Jenyns - 1778 

Maclaurin's (Colin) Account of Newton's Dis- 
coveries - - - 1750 

Malthus (T. R.) on Population, 3 vols. - 1806 

Nichols's (William) Conference with a Theist, 

5 vols. - - - 1699 

Ogden's (Samuel) Sermons, 2 vols. - 1788 

Paley's (William) Natural Theology - 1813 

i Sermons - - 1814 

* Evidences of the Christian 

Religion, 2 vols. - - 1804 
Porteus's (Bishop) Sermons, 2 vols. - 1808 
Summary of the Evidences of 

Christianity - 1803 
Beneficial Effects of Christianity 1808 



Price's (Richard) Four Dissertations - 1767 
. Review of the Principal Ques- 
tions in Morals - - - 1769 

Reid's (Thomas) Essays on the Powers of the 

Mind, 3 vols. - - - 1803 

— Inquiry into the Human Mind 1785 

Rennel's (Thomas)\ Discourses - > - 1801 

Ritchie (James) on the Peculiar Doctrines of 

Revelation, 2 vols. - - 1766 
Rogers's (John) Sermons, 4 vols. - 1784 
Ryan's (Edward) History of the Effects of Re- 
ligion - - - 1806 



576 

Seed's (Jeremiah) Sermons, 4 vols* - 1 747 
Sharp's (Archbishop) Sermons, 7 vols. - 1729 
Sherlock's (Bishop) Discourses, 6 vols. ~ 1764 
Simpson's (John) Internal Evidence of Chris- 
tianity ■• 1801 
Skelton's (Philip) Deism Revealed, 2 vols. - 1751 
Smith's (Adam) Theory of Moral Sentiments, 

2 vols. - - - 1797 

Stillingfleet's (Bishop) Origines Sacrae, 2 vols. 1797 

- on Christ's Satisfaction - 1697 

■ Sermons, 4 vols. - 1696 

Stebbing's (Henry) Boyle's Lectures - 1750 

Stewart's (Dugald) Philosophy of the Human 

Mind, 2 vols. - - - 1816 
Outlines of Moral Philo- 
sophy - - - 1801 
Summer's (John) Records of the Creation, 2 vols. 1816 

Tatham (Edward) The Chart and Scale of Truth, 

2 vols. - - - 1790 

Taylor's (Bishop) Sermons, 3 vols. - 1807 

Life of Christ, 2 vols. - 1811 

Tillotson's (Archbishop) Works, 3 vols. - 1735 

Tottie's (John) Sermons - - 1775 

Van Mildert's (William) Sermons at Boyle's 

Lectures, with Appendix, 3 vols. - 1806 

Warburton's (Bishop) Sermons, 2 vols. - 1753 

_ Divine Legation, 6 vols. 1766 

Watson's (Bishop) Miscellaneous Tracts, 2 vols. 1815 



575 

'Watson's (Bishop) Collection of Theological 

Tracts, 6 vols. - - - 1791 

Two Apologies - 1798 

Watson's (Thomas) Popular Evidences of Chris- 
tianity . - - 1805 
Watts's (Isaac) Ruin and Recovery of Mankind 1742 
Weston's (William) Enquiry concerning Mi- 
racles - - -1746 
Whitby (Daniel) on the Necessity of the Chris- 
tian Revelation - - 1705 

on the Five Points - - 1816 

White's (Joseph) Sermons at Bampton Lectures 1785 
Wilkins's (Bishop) Principles of Natural Reli- 
gion - - - - 1722 
W r ollaston's (William) Religion of Nature Deli- 
neated - - - 1746 

N. B. As it was the object of the Author to com- 
press as much matter as possible in the preceding 
notes and authorities, he has not always rigidly adhered 
in his quotations to the exact expressions of the ori- 
ginals, but in some instances has attempted rather to 
give an abridgement of their sentiments. He trusts, 
however, that by means of the foregoing list, the most 
important references may be easily verified, and that 
from their number and variety, some of them may be 
found even in the most moderate libraries. 



THE END. 



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PORTEUS,D.D. Lord Bishop of London; with an Account of his 
Life and Writings. By the Rev. ROBERT HODGSON, A. M. 
Rector of St. George's, Hanover Square. Handsomely printed in 
six Volumes, 8vo. with a Portrait of his Lordship, from an original 
Picture. Price 2l. 8s. in Boards.— * # * The LIFE OF BISHOP POR- 
TE US, which forms one of the Volumes, is sold separately, for the 
Accommodation of those who are already in Possession of the se- 
veral Works. — This Edition comprehends the following Works, 
each of which may also be had separately; viz. — I. LECTURES 
ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW, delivered in the Parish 
Church of St. James, Westminster, in the Years 1798, 1799, 1800, and 
1801. 14th Edition, two Vols. 8vo. 16s. in Boards : — II. SER- 
MONS ON SEVERAL SUBJECTS. ] 4th Edition, two Vols. 8vo. 
16s. in Boards:— III. TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. Sth 
Edition, 8vo. 9s. in Boards. 

15. THE ELEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY; con- 
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mary of the History of the Jews ; a brief Statement of the Contents 
of the several Books of the Old and New Testament; a short Ac- 
count of the English Translations of the Bible, and of the Liturgy 
of the Church of England; and a Scriptural Exposition of the Thirty- 
nine Articles of Religion. By GEORGE TOMLINE,D.D. F.R.S. 
Lord Bishop of Lincoln. Designed principally for the Use of 
Young Students in Divinity. Eleventh Edition. 2 Vols. 8vo. 
18s. in Boards. — * # * The first Volume of this Work, being an Intro- 
duction to the Study of the Bible, is printed separate, in l2mo. 
6s. in Boards. 

14. A REFUTATION of CALVINISM; in which the Doctrines- 
of Original Sin, Grace, Regeneration, Justification, and Universal 
Redemption, are explained, and the peculiar Tenets maintained by 
Calvin upon those Points are proved to be contrary to Scripture, 
to the Writings of the Ancient Fathers of the Christian Church, 
and to the public Formularies of the Church of England. By the 
same. The Sixth Edition; in one Volume 8vo. Price 12s. in 
Boards. 

15. DISCOURSES ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS. By GEORGE 
ISAAC HUNTINGFORD, D. D. Lord Bishop of Hereford. Se- 
cond Edition. 2 Vols. 8vo. Price xl. is. in Boards. 

16. A CALL FOR UNION WITH THE ESTABLISHED 
CHURCH, addressed to English Protestants. By the same. 8vo. jS& 



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